Heterosexual couple sues for right to civil partnership
Black is white; up is down; left is right! A heterosexual couple in the UK is suing for the right to a civil partnership, a right currently reserved only for gay people. Civil partnerships were introduced in 2005 as a substitute to marriage for gay couples. Now that gay marriage is legal, however, gay couples can choose both, while straight couples can only be married. Now a straight couple, backed by gay activist Peter Tatchell, says they would rather have a civil partnership.
Confusion in Florida gay marriage
The tiny Florida town of Chipley is the centre of growing confusion over a Supreme Court order that would legalize gay marriage Jan 6. Chipley was cited in the suit, but officials are unsure whether the ruling applies only to the one couple mentioned in the case, all couples but only in Chipley, or all couples in the state. If it turns out Chipley is the only place where gay people in Florida can marry, it could be very busy in the new year.
Japanese vagina artist charged with obscenity
Japanese artist Megumi Igarashi has been charged with obscenity for sending out digital 3D models of her own genitals and displaying her models in a Tokyo sex shop. She was also arrested earlier this year for 3D printing a kayak shaped like her vagina. Igarashi uses her art to try to make vaginas more acceptable in Japanese pop culture.
US kicks Gambia out of trade agreement over gay rights
The United States has dropped Gambia from the AGOA (African Growth and Opportunity Act) trade agreement over the small African country’s crackdown on gay people. Dozens of gay Gambians have been arrested in the past months, and President Yahya Jammeh has publicly called for gay people to be killed. Under the agreement, Gambia was exporting $37 million of goods to the US duty free.
FDA scraps lifetime ban on gay blood
The US Food and Drug Administration announced Dec 23 it would end its lifelong ban on blood donations from men who have had sex with men since 1977. It will continue, however, to ban men who have had sex with men in the past year. Many activists, including the editors of The New York Times, have called for a full reversal of the ban.
Read more at The New York Times.
Michael Sam: “There are lots of gay players in the NFL”
In an interview with Oprah, openly gay football player Michael Sam, who was drafted into the NFL but is yet to land a permanent job, said that other gay players who remain in the closet reached out to him after he came out. “I’m not the only one — I’m just the only one that’s open,” he said. “There’s a lot of us out there.”
Photo credit: Twitter, Peter Tatchell
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