A jailed clerk, angry rent boys and a celibate neurologist

Your Daily Package of newsy and naughty bits from around the world


Kentucky clerk jailed

Rowan County, Kentucky, has finally begun issuing marriage licences to same-sex couples, as county clerk Kim Davis rests behind bars. Davis was jailed after repeatedly refusing to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples, even in the face of multiple court orders.

Read more at NBC.

Oliver Sacks’s celibacy

Renowned neurologist and author Oliver Sacks died last week, leaving a legacy of profound human insight and compassion for his patients. What is easily forgotten is that he was also a gay man who lived celibate for most of his life, perhaps scarred by his mother’s angry rejection of his sexuality.

Read more at the Washington Post.

Insurer: PrEP worked every time

A study by San Francisco’s largest health insurer shows that, of 657 clients taking PrEP, a daily pill to prevent HIV infection, not a single one became infected. The study found that the clients using PrEP did, as some critics feared, use fewer condoms and contract some other sexually transmitted infections, but HIV was not one of them.

Read more at the New York Times.

Rent boys protest

About 70 activists and male sex workers gathered in front of a Brooklyn courthouse this weekend to protest the closure of Rentboy.com. The protesters said the site helped protect sex workers from harm, and that the raid was motivated by prejudice against gay sexuality.

Read more at the New York Post.

Trans woman running for Venezuelan assembly

Venezuelan investments lawyer Tamara Adrián will run in this winter’s Venezuelan national election, and could become the first LGBT person elected in the country. Adrián is opposed by supporters of the late president Hugo Chávez, whose party, she says, has done little to advance LGBT rights despite paying lip service to the issue.

Read more at the Washington Blade.

 

Niko Bell

Niko Bell is a writer, editor and translator from Vancouver. He writes about sexual health, science, food and language.

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