Seychelles Lawmakers Approve Measure to Decriminalize Gay Sex

The Republic of the Seychelles, the archipelago nation off the east coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean, has moved to decriminalize gay sex.

An amendment to change the country’s criminal code passed in parliament with 14 votes in favor, 14 abstentions, and 4 members not present. There were no votes opposed to the bill.

The Seychelles’ current ban on gay sex is a holdover from British colonial rule. Any person found guilty of sodomy could be sentenced to 14 years in jail.

The Seychelles News Agency reports: 

The proposal was first made by President James Michel in his State of the Nation address. Island church leaders were against the proposal but said God’s love applies to everyone. A leader from the gay and lesbian community said she appreciated the fact that no members of parliament voted against it.

A representative from the ruling Parti Lepep – which holds 31 seats in parliament — said that politicians need to fight for equality, including that of sexual preference.

“While we appreciate the diversity of races, politics and religion, on the other hand as a country we are treating sexual orientation and diversity seperately,” said Chantal Ghislain, who represents the nation’s inner islands.

The newly appointed Leader of the Opposition in the assembly, who attended her first sitting on Tuesday, also voted in favour.

Before the vote on Tuesday, Seychelles Foreign Affairs Minister Joel Morgan addressed critics of the change who say the amendment would codify sin: “A sin is not determined by the government but by religion. Each individual needs to follow his or her conscience on the issue.”

The post Seychelles Lawmakers Approve Measure to Decriminalize Gay Sex appeared first on Towleroad.

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Hillary Clinton Calls for End to HIV Criminalization: WATCH

Hillary Clinton called for an end to HIV criminalization in a video recorded for attendees at the HIV is Not a Crime convention in Huntsville, Alabama this week.

Clinton urged the U.S. to increase research, expand access to PrEP, and bring down the cost of prescription drugs. She promised to reform outdated and stigmatizing criminalization laws and “enforce civil rights laws to fight HIV-related discrimination, stigma, and injustice.”

The conference unites and trains advocates living with HIV and allies in the U.S. about laws criminalizing PLHIV and teaches strategies and best practices for repealing those laws

Watch:

Clinton recently met with HIV/AIDS activists in New York City.

Said activist Peter Staley following the meeting:

“We started about an hour late, but she stayed well beyond our budgeted 45 minutes — over an hour, in the end. A frank exchange. It was a first step in what we all agreed would be an ongoing process with her campaign. No surprise — she’s an HIV wonk.”

The post Hillary Clinton Calls for End to HIV Criminalization: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

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Seychelles Decriminalizes Same-Sex Activity

The Seychelles, an island state in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa, today became the latest country to decriminalize male same-sex activity. Female same-sex relations are not criminalized in the country.

The breakthrough followed years of debate, and the government’s commitment in 2011 to the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council that it would decriminalize same-sex activity. The pledge came during the island state’s Universal Periodic Review before the UN.

“I am over the moon that we have finally won this long struggle,” Ronny Arnephy, Vice-Chair of LGBTI-Sey, told HRC. “Now that the bill has passed, it paves the way for same-sex marriage and adoption. Our actions won’t stop here, and we will keep moving forward until we have full equality for Seychelles’ LGBTI community.”

Since 1955, Section 151 of the Seychelles Penal Code has criminalized consensual same-sex activity, with penalties of up to 14 years in prison if convicted. The law was rarely enforced.

“This victory gives hope and encouragement to activists around the world,” said Ty Cobb, Director of HRC Global. “We congratulate the LGBTQ community in Seychelles on their watershed accomplishment, and for  joining a host of other nations, including the U.S., that have banished LGBT criminalization laws to the dustbin of history.”

With this vote, the number of countries that criminalize LGBTQ people drops to 74.

Five countries have decriminalized same-sex activity since 2011. In July 2015, Mozambique revised its Portuguese colonial-era code that criminalized same-sex sexual activity. Other countries that have decriminalized same-sex activity in recent years are Lesotho and Sao Tome and Principe in 2012, and Lebanon and Palau in 2014.

While gradual progress continues to be made, there have also been setbacks. India’s Supreme Court re-criminalized same-sex acts in 2013, overturning a lower court’s 2009 ruling to decriminalize by “reading down” the notorious Section 377, which had been declared unconstitutional.

This decriminalization vote follows the release of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) and Logo entertainment’s historic report on global attitudes towards LGBTI people. The report found that 53 percent of respondents say that being LGBTI should not be a crime. This is the first survey showing that a majority of the world’s population supports the decriminalization of same-sex activity.

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Seth Meyers Gives a History Lesson on Bathrooms

Bathrooms have a political history that goes back to the 1800s, says Seth Meyers. 

www.advocate.com/transgender/2016/5/18/seth-meyers-gives-history-lesson-bathrooms

Nation's Largest Latino Civil Rights Group Joins LGBTs in N.C. Boycott

National Council of La Raza pulled its convention from North Carolina protest of the anti-LGBT HB 2. 

www.advocate.com/transgender/2016/5/18/nations-largest-latino-civil-rights-group-joins-lgbts-nc-boycott

This Ad Campaign on Being Asian and LGBT Is Overdue

www.advocate.com/families/2016/5/18/ad-campaign-being-asian-and-lgbt-overdue

5 Reasons Millennial Women Love The CockyBoys

It’s not exactly news that some women, even lesbians, are into gay porn. Remember Julianne Moore awkwardly trying to explain to their son why she and Annette Bening watched gay porn in The Kids Are Alright? And Pornhub has the stats to back it up.

Cosmo recently took a deep dive (mildly NSFW) into the very particular community of female fans who are obsessed with the twinky stars of gay porn studio CockyBoys.

“If it wasn’t for our women fans, I don’t think we would have the level of exposure that we’ve had,” former porn performer George Alvin (a.k.a. Max Ryder) tells the mag. So, what makes these nubile young dudes so appealing to 20- and 30-something ladies?

1. They look like a boy band.
That’s essentially the story’s starting point, positioning the boys as “One Erection.” According to CockyBoy Tayte Hanson, “When these girls were young, boy bands were the ‘in’ thing. They saw the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC, and that’s what their brain decided to tell them was attractive and appealing.” The brand’s x-rated, faux boy band mocumentary series aims to cash in on that appeal.

2. Their movies have actual plots.
It’s kind of a cliché that women like porn with a plot, but CockyBoys founder Jake Jaxson says his company’s more ambitious films have “elevated” the genre.

3. They can tell they’re into each other.
“Women definitely have a preference for gay porn where the men look like they are into each other,” says Dr. Lucy Neville, a senior lecturer at London’s Middlesex University. That’s in contrast to straight porn, in which women’s sexual responses often seem fake. “If a man has an erection and he ejaculates, that shows he’s having a good time,” Neville explains.

4. They’ve built a community.
The boys are active on social media, messaging fans and interacting with them on a more personal level. Meanwhile, some of the CockyBoys’ female fans travel from all over the world to meet them at events, and some of these women have even established friendships with each other based on their mutual obsession. “I feel like this is my second family,” one fan admits.

5. The real-life behind-the-scenes drama.
Just like Joan Crawford and Bette Davis’s legendary feud made them gay icons, CockyBoys fangirls lap up the off-camera rivalries and gossip. “A lot of the girl fans thought we were dating in real life, to the point where they would sometimes attack the actual people we were dating on social media,” Alvin (a.k.a. Max Ryder) says of his former co-star Jake Bass. Fans nicknamed the pair “Jax.” “The funny part was we hated each other but on camera had to play off the whole ‘Jax’ [thing].”

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Obama Administration Battles Republicans Over Who Is More Sex-Obsessed

The White House has just thrown some deep shade in response to a Wall Street Journal op-ed that suggests that the administration’s recent decision directing schools to allow trans kids to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity is rooted in a “preoccupation with sex.”

The Washington Times was on hand to get the response from White House press secretary Josh Earnest and, well, it was a read for the ages:

“It’s Republicans in the Congress that have created a special congressional committee to take a look at Planned Parenthood,” Mr. Earnest said. “It’s Republicans who have sued the administration over the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, including as it relates to women being able to get access to their birth control.”

He said the editorial’s accusation was “curious” and didn’t stand up to scrutiny.

Repeat after us: sexuality and gender identity are two different things.

We’ll be glad when people (finally) get the memo, and we’re going to have to side with Earnest on this one.

It’s laughable that the party that has spent the better part of 30+ years trying to police women’s bodies accuses the Obama Administration of being sex-obsessed for attempting to help trans kids be themselves.

But then again, this is the kind of stupidity we’ve come to expect from the GOP, where their actions are constantly inconsistent with what they claim to believe.

Earnest has their number, as does anyone who’s paying attention this election year.

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