Quickies: Seventh Trans Murder, Same-Sex Marriage Abroad, Blood Donation Celibacy Challenge

• Lying About HIV Not Necessarily a Felony – “An HIV-positive man who told a partner that they could safely have unprotected sex should face a misdemeanor reckless endangerment charge, not a felony, New York’s highest court ruled Thursday.”
• Baton Rouge Police Chief: No More Unlawful Sodomy Arrests – Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie issued a memo telling officers not to arrest people under defunct anti-sodomy law, this after two Louisiana men were arrested using those unenforceable statutes after caught having sex in a car. Chief Dabadie has also issued an apology to the two men.
• Seventh Trans Woman Murdered in Miami – “Miami police have ruled the death of 46-year-old Latina trans woman Kristina Gomez Reinwald a homicide, after initially concluding she died by suicide, reports local station WTVJ. Reinwald was discovered deceased Monday at her southwest Miami home.”
• “Stop Letting Trans People Die” – “I call on all non-trans people: queer allies, straight activists, moms, dads, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, bandmates, soulmates, teens and elders, ministers, doctors and teachers — let the world know that you care about trans folk, no matter how they identify, and that you stand with us. That our treatment, the erasure of our affirmed identities, and the violence perpetrated against us, is unacceptable. Tell people our lives matter — that we are people.”
• Same-Sex Marriage Coming to Finland – “President Niinistö signed and confirmed the new law Friday which will make marriage gender neutral in Finland when it comes into force on March 1, 2017. The signing was an historic occasion also in respect to the fact that this will be the first piece of legislation brought to Parliament as a citizens’ initiative and approved as the law of the land.”
• Date Set for Ireland Referendum on Marriage Equality – “Voters in the Irish Republic will decide whether to approve same-sex marriage on 22 May after the Taoiseach announced the date for a referendum.”
• Dating While Autistic – A lesbian describes how her autism can shape a first date and weed out unsuitable suitors.
• “Intended Parent Study” Seeks Participants – “The purpose of this study is to examine the many ways people think about and want to create their future families. The study consists of an online survey and will take approximately 20-35 minutes of your time. To qualify for the study you have to be over the age of 18, not have any children currently, and want to become a parent in the future.” More info at the link.
• Alan Cumming Celibacy Challenge – In reaction to new FDA regulations that allow men who have sex with men to donate blood, but only following a year of celibacy, Cumming and GLAAD have teamed up to offer a mock celibacy challenge. Alternatively, viewers are urged to sign a petition opposing the regulation and asking that men who have sex with men are treated just like any other segment of the population and screened based on risk level, not identity.

Featured image: Kristina Gomez Reinwald via NBC Miami