Saliva, marriage loopholes and Mormon divorce

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

Tunisian police break up protests

Plainclothes police broke up a protest of LGBT activists against discriminatory laws in Tunisia on Saturday. Authorities said they banned the protest to protect protesters from being targeted. [The Citizen]

Stanford scientists develop HIV saliva test

Scientists at Stanford say they have developed a protocol that would allow them to test for HIV using only saliva. [Newsweek]

Russian couple charged after finding marriage loophole

A Russian gay couple who found a way to have their overseas marriage recognized by Russian officials have now been charged for “deliberate damage to documents.” [Independent]

Gay Mormon in straight marriage divorces, apologizes

Josh Weed, a gay Mormon man whose story of being platonically married to a straight woman was used an an exemplar of how gay men could deny their sexuality to fit into the Mormon church, is separating from his wife and apologizing to the LGBT community for saying his marriage worked. [KUTV]

Taiwanese activists kickstart marriage fight

In 2017, Taiwan’s constitutional court ruled that same-sex marriage must be legalized, but progress has stalled. Now a coalition, formed by gay rights and women’s rights groups, is pushing a campaign to kickstart the process. [Taiwan News]

Niko Bell

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

Read More About:
Power

Keep Reading

The new generation of gay Conservative sellouts

OPINION: Melissa Lantsman’s and Eric Duncan’s refusals to call out their party’s transphobia is a betrayal of the LGBTQ2S+ community

Over 300 anti-LGBTQ2S+ bills have been introduced this year. This doesn’t mean we should panic

OPINION: While it’s important to watch out for threats, not all threats are created equally. Some of these bills will die a natural death

Xtra’s top LGBTQ2S+ stories of the year

The best and brightest—even most bewildering—stories from a back catalogue brimming with insight

Elon Musk and Texas attorney general Ken Paxton are suing Media Matters. Here’s why queer and trans people should care

OPINION: When politicians and the rich leverage the power of the state to quell dissent, we all lose