Gay kiss goes out live on Singapore TV
A kiss between two men was broadcast live on a Singapore television channel during a news report. The broadcast from a bar in Beijing filled with fans watching the Winter Olympics. The men jumped in front of the camera and shared a kiss. The clip has gone viral in Singapore because broadcasting does restrict content that ‘promotes’ LGBT ‘lifestyles’, and where sexual relationships between men are outlawed. The kiss has been removed from a version of the broadcast published by Channel News Asia, but a clip of the kiss has been viewed more than 825,000 times on TikTok.
The Mormon Church supports Arizona gay rights bill
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has expressed support for a new bill in Arizona that would provide religious freedom and LGBT anti-discrimination protections. The bill will also ban conversion therapy. In a statement, the church said: “It is our position that this bipartisan bill preserves the religious rights of individuals and communities of faith while protecting the rights of members of the LGBTQ community, consistent with the principles of fairness for all.”
TikTok bans misgendering, deadnaming trans people
Social media company TikTok has explicitly banned certain types of anti-LGBTQ content and speech on its platform. In updated guidelines, the company has banned deadnaming, or using a transgendered person’s pre-transition name, and misgendering, using incorrect pronouns. The platform also prohibited “content that supports or promotes conversion therapy programs.
Gay penguins raise newly hatched chick at New York zoo
A gay penguin couple are now parents after an egg they had been caring for hatched early last month. Elmer and Lima, two male penguins, are the first same-sex penguin parents ad the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York, which is home to an internationally renowned Humboldt penguin programme. Although the zoo has at least two breeding pairs of penguins, it has relied on foster parents to incubate eggs because of a history of breeding pairs inadvertently breaking fertilised eggs.
Bill to ban conversion therapy in New Zealand passes second reading
A bill that would ban conversion therapy has passed its second reading in New Zealand’s parliament. All parties except National block voted in favour of the bill. In total, 26 of National’s MPs voted for the bill and seven against it. The bill will be voted on a third time shortly.