Hermaphroditic cat gets sex-assignment surgery
Mittens the hermaphroditic cat is resting comfortably after a round of sex-assignment surgery to make her female. Mittens was born with both sets of genitals, which gave her urinary problems. Her Newfoundland owner decided she would go with the female genitals.
Read more at The Huffington Post.
Irish High Court justice confirms she is gay
At this rate, all of Ireland’s top officials will have come out of the closet by this spring’s referendum on gay marriage. Justice Aileen Donnelly has confirmed she is gay, making her the first openly LGBT member of Ireland’s high court. Last week, Ireland’s minister of health came out as gay on a radio program, and earlier this month a Dublin priest came out as gay to his parishioners.
Should NASA name a telescope after a persecutor of gays?
On his blog, Dan Savage fields a question from a reader who objects to NASA naming a telescope after James Webb, a former NASA administrator who also cracked down on gay people while working in the McCarthy-era US State Department. Savage says that while Webb was clearly anti-gay, he was on par for his era, and NASA should let him have his telescope.
Chile legalizes same-sex unions
In a vote of 86 to 23, the Chilean House of Representatives passed a bill allowing same-sex couples to enter into civil partnerships. The senate and Chile’s president are both expected to approve the bill, which could become law next month. Advocates say they will not be satisfied, however, until Chile has full marriage equality.
Read more at the Washington Blade.
Gallup: US satisfaction with gay rights plateaus
According to a Gallup poll published Jan 22, approximately the same proportion of Americans are satisfied with the country’s level of gay acceptance as in 2014. In both years, 53 percent of respondents said they were happy with how accepting the US is of gay people. However, the number of people who want more gay rights is rising, and the number who want fewer gay rights is falling.
Ukraine’s gay hopes dashed
When last year’s revolution kicked out corrupt pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, many LGBT people in Ukraine hoped the country would lean toward liberal Europe. On Foreign Policy, Dimiter Kenarov writes that things have turned out differently, and rightwing extremism is making life for gay Ukranians harder than ever.
Why you can trust Xtra
