India sodomy ruling appealed
An Indian court’s decision to legalize same-sex intercourse is being challenged.
Pakistan’s lone gay writer rests pen, says sorry
ISLAMABAD: Gay community in India may be celebrating the Delhi High Court’s landmark ruling that decriminalized homosexuality, the lone Pakistani who blogs about gay travails has decided to stop writing.
“Not in Pakistan. I cannot. Sorry,” Jalaluddin, who blogs at Tuzk-e-Jalali, wrote in his latest and perhaps last post on June 28.
“I guess all of you guys will have to get used to the fact that I will, from now on, be blogging very irregularly, as in once a quarter or something.”
Jalal describes himself as a “20-something sarcastic, psychotic, socialist, homosexual blogger from Karachi” who was educated as an engineer, but works as a banker and dreams of being a traveler and writer. See Pakistan’s lone gay writer rests pen, says sorry
Times of India
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‘I am a gay American, and I am a second-class citizen’
Courtney Deckard | IDS
Members of the Bloomington Gay Recruiters group conduct a marriage equality sit-in on Thursday morning outside the Monroe County Justice Building. Along with signs, the group also chanted “1,138 federal rights denied. I am a gay American and I am a second-class citizen.”
Honoring the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York City on June 28, 1969, Bloomington residents Lillie Aydt and her group Gay Recruiters led Bloomington’s first-ever sit-in for marriage equality Thursday at the Monroe County Justice Building downtown. The Stonewall riots occurred when members of the LGBT community in Greenwich Village at the Stonewall Inn fought back against the
oppression they faced from various government-sponsored systems.
Gay Recruiters was formed in response to the Proposition 8 Supreme Court decision, which upheld the illegality of same-sex marriage in California and thus established what Aydt called “an Orwellian precedent, allowing certain gay citizens more rights than others.” See ‘I am a gay American, and I am a second-class citizen’
Indiana Daily Student
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/i-am-gay-amer…
In India, Homosexuals can now hope for better healthcare Daily News & Analysis
The National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) feels that the Delhi high court verdict on legalising homosexuality will have a far reaching impact on its intervention programmes against HIV/AIDS.”From the public health point of view this is a very positive step as it will help us reach out more and more men having sex with men (MSMs) in our endeavour against HIV/AIDS. Since homosexuality is illegal under IPC 377, not only the MSMs but many of our health workers are also arrested by the police for abetment of crime. As I result a lot of MSMs go underground and are reluctant to seek medical intervention. The HC verdict will help MSMs come out in open and access healthcare,” said K Sujatha Rao, director general of NACO. MSM is a medical term used for the gay. See Homosexuals can now hope for better healthcare Daily News & Analysis
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Homosexuality immoral, but not criminal: Religious leaders
In the first flurry of reactions, religious leaders appeared to be slamming the de-criminalization of gay sex. But while most conservative scholars and clerics remain opposed to homosexuality as an article of faith, many say that they aren’t advocating making it a criminal act as Section 377 of IPC did.
Writer and philosopher Deepak Chopra told TOI from his home in New York, ‘‘A new morality must evolve that is based on a true understanding of human nature, that is also consistent with its biology. Homosexuality has been part of the human condition for as long as human beings have existed. The Delhi High Court should be congratulated for making a decision that finally catches up with our times.’’
Then, while Delhi Catholic Archdiocese has described homosexuality as ‘‘unnatural’’, it says it has nothing against its de-criminalization. Spokesperson of Delhi Catholic Archdiocese, Father Dominic Emmanuel, told TOI,‘‘Homosexuality is a sin — as opposed to a crime. But we believe that those who indulge in it should be treated with respect and compassion.’’
In a newspaper article, Father Dominic was even more forthright. ‘‘It needs to be made clear that the Christian community does not (repeat it does not) treat people with homosexual tendencies as criminals. Nor does it believe that they can be regarded on par with criminals. Therefore, the church has no serious objection to the repealing of Section 377.
‘‘The Vatican’s stand on this is quite clear: Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided’,’’ wrote Father Dominic.
Similarly, some Muslim clerics and scholars, too, favour de-criminalization of homosexuality, saying that while Islam does not permit homosexuality, this doesn’t mean it should be equated with criminality.
‘‘The Quran condemns homosexuality, but doesn’t prescribe any punishment for it. It’s a sin, not a crime. Sin is between Allah and the sinner, but crime concerns the entire society. So, sexual minorities should be left to their conscience. They are answerable to Allah for their act and should not be treated as criminals,’’ said Islamic scholar Asghar Ali Engineer.
Maulana Abu Zafar Hassan Nadvi, a cleric, too accepts that since the Quran is silent on the punishment for homosexuality, it should be treated as an irreligious, immoral act. ‘‘Every non-religious act is not liable to be punished. Just as we don’t pronounce death for atheists, homosexuals should be left alone until they get reformed,” said Maulana Nadvi. See Homosexuality immoral, but not criminal: Religious leaders
Times of India
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/homosexuality…
Religious groups in India have warned they will…
Religious groups in India have warned they will oppose any move to legalize homosexuality as the federal government prepares to hold talks on a law that classifies same-sex acts as crimes.
India’s Hindu nationalist main opposition has in the meantime called for a national debate on the legislation that law minister M. Veerappa Moily last week said would come up for a discussion within the government.
“This is a sensitive issue and warrants a debate within the Indian society at large before arriving at any decision,” said Sidharth Nath Singh, spokesman for the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.
An Indian court is due to give its judgment on a petition filed by a nonprofit group that has challenged the anti-gay provision of the penal code.
In a news conference last week, Moily refused to spell out his government’s stand on it because it awaits judicial determination. But his comments that the federal home minister was “contemplating” a meeting with his Cabinet colleagues on the law drew widespread coverage in the largely conservative country.
“Hope floats at rainbow parades,” read a caption on a front-page picture from a gay parade in New Delhi in Monday’s Times of India newspaper.
Participants in that march demanded repeal of Section 377 of the penal code, which criminalizes private consensual sex between adults of the same gender in the country. 
Watch a New Delhi march in support of gay rights »
Religious leaders, however, oppose any suggestion to scrap 377, describing homosexuality as “unnatural.”
“We are against calling homosexuality a criminal activity, but we are certainly in principle against legalizing it, because that would mean the state endorsing same-sex relationships,” said Babu Joseph, spokesman for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India.
Homosexuality “violates fundamental norms of a family,” he said.
See India faith leaders: Anti-gay law must stay CNN International
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“Gay sex shouldn’t be legalised at any cost’ Sez Indian Pol
RJD chief Lalu Prasad denounced Delhi High Court’s ruling decriminalising gay sex and felt the Centre should appeal against the judgement in the Supreme Court.
“Gay sex should not be legalised at any cost and the Centre should appeal against the verdict in the Supreme Court. I am dead against legalisation of gay sex and will strongly raise the issue in Parliament. Section 377 of the IPC should not be amended,” Prasad said.
Asked whether homosexuality is still a crime, he said: “Yes, it is a crime… Such obscene acts should not be allowed in our country. The society is adversely affected.”
“Such things which affect the society should not be permitted at all… Government has a greater responsibility towards the society,” Prasad said.
“I don’t want to talk about such rubbish things. These are obscene things which our country and culture do not permit,” he said.
See Gay sex shouldn’t be legalised at any cost: Lalu
Indian Express -
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India’s PM to take view on decriminalising gay sex
NEW DELHI: After the Delhi High Court’s landmark verdict decriminalising gay sex, the matter is now in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s court – on whether to amend the archaic law dealing with the issue.
Home minister P Chidambaram along with his cabinet colleagues law minister Veerappa Moily and health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Friday held meeting to analyse Delhi High Court’s judgement decriminalising same gender sex.
Emerging out of the half-an-hour long meeting held at North Block, Moily said the trio will submit their report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
“We met today and analysed the judgment and will submit our report to the Prime Minister,” he said.
See India’s PM to take view on decriminalising gay sex
Times of India
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/indias-pm-to-…
New Delhi Lifts Colonial-Era Ban on Gay Sex
A top court in the Indian capital of New Delhi yesterday overturned a colonial-era law banning gay sex between consenting adults as the world’s biggest democracy struggles to balance tradition and modernity.
In a strongly worded statement, New Delhi’s High Court ruled that the 150-year-old statute prohibiting homosexual acts was discriminatory and therefore a “violation of fundamental rights.”
“It cannot be forgotten that discrimination is antithesis of equality and that it is the recognition of equality which will foster dignity of every individual,” the court said in a 105-page judgment.
Quoting India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, Justice A.P. Shah said: “Words are magic things often enough, even the magic of words sometimes cannot convey magic of human spirit and of a nation’s passion.”
The ruling applies only to New Delhi and to adults older than 18. But federal government ministers are also in the process of reviewing the law.
See New Delhi Lifts Colonial-Era Ban on Gay Sex
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Activists welcome Delhi hc’s gay verdict
Gay support groups of Vadodara have welcomed the Delhi High Court’s verdict that decriminalised homosexual relations.
They said the judgment will help solve health issues
such as HIV/AIDS, adding that the abolition of
Section 377 for adults shall also solve several ailments among the weaker segments of society.
Maya Sharma, Parma’s Founder trustee, said: “This judgment is indicative of the changing values of society and will enable further change. Generally, this movement has been seen as western, but in reality, this change would not have been possible without support and participation of people cutting across the religion, caste and age lines.”
Pointing out what kind of legal challenges women have faced recently in the state, Sharma said: “While marriage is almost compulsory for all, when it comes to women, there was a complete lack of choice. Recently in Ahmedabad, a same-sex couple went to the police for help only to be turned away because there was no provision for protection of a woman having a woman partner.”
See Activists welcome Delhi hc’s gay verdict
Indian Express
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