Listen Now

We talk about what might come next if gay marriage is legalized throughout the United States. What legal issue will become the new rallying point for gay legal activism? And could polygamy be the next major marriage issue? We'll be on a hiatus during May, so look for our next episode in June.

In this episode we talk about revenge porn laws in the United States and the United Kingdom. We go over some of the alternative charges that are used to against creators of revenge porn in jurisdictions without revenge porn statutes.

Henry Rayhons, the 78-year-old former member of the Iowa House of Representatives, has been charged with sexual assault for having sex with his wife who had Alzheimer's. There are no allegations that force was used. The charges are based on the theory that his wife's Alzheimer's disease prevented her from being able to consent to sex. In this episode we discuss the charges.

San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California had long been the capital of porn production. In 2012 the county passed a law requiring porn actors to use condoms during filming. The controversial law lead to many production companies moving to other locations, causing an estimated six billion dollar loss to the county's economy. In this episode we talk about why porn companies were initially drawn to LA county, the condom-requirement law, and where porn companies are moving now. The music in this episode is Bombcore by Gryzzex.

In this episode we compare HIV laws in Sudan, Kenya, and the United States. We look at how legislative action is decriminalizing HIV and AIDS in Sudan, while judicial action is decriminalizing it in Kenya. Meanwhile, many states in the USA continue to criminalize HIV and AIDS.

We survey the legal landscape in the United States for trans rights and anti-discrimination protection. We talk about recent statements made by Obama and a new and progressive trans rights law in Malta.

We react to the Public Religion Research Institute's interesting recent survey report titled "How Race and Religion Shape Millennial Attitudes on Sexuality and Reproductive Health."

We look at some of the roles that state governments play in preventing the spread of HIV. We discuss the recent HIV outbreak in Indiana, including the importance of HIV testing and needle exchanges. Then we turn to Illinois and Texas, where recent budgets have been proposed which would reduce funding for HIV prevention and treatment.

We talk about the tension between the criminal and campus processes for dealing with sexual assaults at college. FratPac, a lobbyist group made up of representatives from fraternities and sororities, want all sexual assaults to go through the criminal process before going through adjudication on campus. Law professors at Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania agree, saying that the change will protect the due process of those accused. On the other side of the debate, victims’ rights activists argue that the criminal process is too slow to protect victims on a college campus. We also talk about a recent proposal by the Attorney General of Illinois, which recommended changes to the way campus’s respond to sexual assaults that would help victims get immediate protection.

Indiana has a new RFRA law that critics claim will allow anti-gay discrimination. We disagree.

We discuss challenges to anti-sex work laws in California and Northern Ireland.

Anti-conversion therapy bills progress in three states, a Canadian MP pushes for gender neutral language in the Canadian national anthem, and Brazil creates enhanced sentences for murders motivated by domestic violence or hatred of women.

Opt-in sexual education moves from policy to law in Utah, Germany requires at least 30% of the boards of many major corporations to be female, and Minnesota considers a bill restricting the rights of transgender athletes.

We discuss recent criticism of a FERPA rule allowing schools to directly access students' medical records from university owned clinics, and a DOJ report criticizing the Witness Protection Program's handling of sex offenders.

Virginia passes anti-sex trafficking law, the UK rejects a ban on sex-selective abortion, a teacher is suspended for posting anti-LGBT comments on Facebook, a report shows that US funded abstinence only education in Africa has failed, and a town in New York drafts restrictive sex offender rules in anticipation of a new state law.

Florida and Kentucky move towards laws preventing transgender people from using their preferred bathrooms, Denmark removes forced sterilization requirement for legal sex changes, same-sex marriage now allowed in Nebraska but stalls in Alabama, and Indian retailers dodge the sex toy ban.

Finland legalizes same-sex marriage, Oregon swears in the United States' first openly bisexual Governor, a student blames 50 Shades of Grey for inspiring him to rape, a bill allowing local sex offender laws moves past the New York Senate, and South Korea legalizes adultery.

A father murders his possibly transgender child, Ginsburg warns about anti-abortion legislation harming the poor, a report accuses Jehovah's Witnesses of systemically covering up child abuse, and a Sheriff's Deputy accused of sexually abusing undocumented immigrants accepts a plea bargain.

A New Jersey court rules that homosexual conversion therapy is consumer fraud, New York's highest court voids local sex offender laws, a report by the British government recommends mandatory sex education in schools, and a homosexual woman in Canada fights for custody rights of her non-biological daughter.

Florida debates the legal definition of sex, Kentucky charges a teen younger than the age of consent with statutory rape, Chicago mayoral candidate Garcia releases a LGBTQ agenda, and the KKK announces its intention to fight gay marriage in Alabama.