Cartoon Network airs gay characters, censors kiss (USA)
In a recent episode of the Cartoon Network show Clarence, two gay characters made a brief appearance, the first on the network, according to Queerty. The characters appear as part of a joke in which a main character sees an attractive man she thinks is her date but who turns out to be meeting another man. The two men kiss on the cheek. A writer for the series tweeted that originally the characters were going to kiss on the mouth, but that did not make it to air.
Singapore court upholds anti-gay law
Singapore’s highest court has decided that a law criminalizing gay sex is constitutional. Three gay men challenged the law as discriminatory, but the court determined that it passes a legal test for alignment with the Singaporean constitution. “Whilst we understand the deeply-held personal feelings of the appellants, there is nothing that this court can do to assist them. Their remedy lies, if at all, in the legislative sphere,” one judge wrote. The law, Section 377A, punishes sex between men in public or private with up to two years in prison. Women are unaffected.
Indian wife turns in gay husband to police (India)
An Indian man has been charged under Section 377 of the Indian criminal code (part of the same British colonial legacy as Singapore’s law) after his wife discovered him cheating. The woman suspected he was gay because he would not touch her after they were married and because he wore pink lip gloss. She set up a hidden camera to catch his meetings with other men, then turned in the evidence to police. Section 377, which was struck down by a court in 2009 and then reinstated by the Supreme Court in 2013, punishes homosexuality with up to life in prison.
Read more at the Bangalore Mirror.
Koalas can now be vaccinated against chlamydia (Australia)
Australian scientists say they have developed a vaccine to combat chlamydia in koalas, which is a big problem, apparently. There are thought to be only about 40,000 koalas left in the wild, partly because of the ravages of koala STIs. Who knew?
Read more from Agence France Presse.
Conservative minister would now support gay marriage (UK)
British Education Secretary Nicky Morgan told the BBC she would now vote for gay marriage if she had the chance, even though she rejected it before. A law legalizing gay marriage in England and Wales passed Parliament last year. “I have certainly learned an awful lot doing this job,” she said about her change of heart. Morgan says that she voted against gay marriage because her constituents overwhelmingly asked her to and that she wishes more gay-marriage supporters had come forward. Welcome to the bandwagon, Nicky.
Ugandan court drops charges against gay activist
A Ugandan court has dropped charges against gay activist Sam Ganafa after prosecutors repeatedly delayed the trial. Ganafa was charged with sodomy last year during the debate on Uganda’s anti-homosexuality act. Police in Uganda frequently arrest people on sodomy charges without enough evidence to prosecute.
Photo: Cartoon Network
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