James Deen dropped from porn site over assault accusations
Superstar porn performer James Deen has lost his job with Kink.com, as well as a successful sex advice column, over Twitter accusations of sexual assault by several co-performers. The accusations are particularly earthshaking because Deen was known as an icon of consensual and responsible porn and kink.
Popular support booms for same-sex marriage in Asia
No Asian country has fully legalized same-sex marriage yet, but that day may come soon. Polls in both Taiwan and in Japan show that a majority of citizens in both countries support same-sex marriages. An equal marriage bill has stalled in Taiwanese national politics, while some municipal districts in Japan have begun issuing cohabitation licenses to gay couples.
Indian finance minister wants to “reconsider” gay criminalization
India’s finance minister Arun Jaitley says India’s law against gay sex should be “reconsidered.” An Indian court struck down the country’s colonial-era sodomy law in 2009, but the supreme court reinstated it in 2013 under pressure from religious groups. Indian courts and lawmakers have passed responsibility for the law back and forth, both refusing to be the ones to change it.
Commonwealth secretary general says she will fight for gay equality
The new secretary general of the Commonwealth says she will spend her first two years in office fighting for gay rights and equality across all Commonwealth nations. Baroness Patricia Scotland was named secretary general at a Commonwealth meeting in Malta, where gay rights were not on the agenda. Consensual homosexual behavior is legal in only 13 of 53 participating countries.
Native American same-sex marriage fight builds
After an Arizona woman sued the Ak-Chin Indian Community last week for recognition of her marriage, the resistance of some tribes to marriage equality has become a thorny issue in the American LGBT spotlight. The two largest Native American tribes in the US, the Navajo and the Cherokee, both prohibit same-sex marriage.