Thursday, July 2, 2009

Gay sex now legal in India

The Indian court was able to make this decision without any reference to consitutional law or human rights because the statute merely banned "sex against the law of nature" and since that was not precise, a mere reconsideration of what is natural was required. Apparently the law will no be used only in non-consensual situations.


NEW DELHI -- An Indian court on Thursday ruled gay sex was not a crime, a verdict that will bolster demands by gay and health groups that the government scrap a British colonial law which bans homosexual sex.

In a country where public hugging and kissing even among heterosexuals invites lewd remarks and sometimes beatings, gay sex has been a taboo, leaving the government unsure how conservative Indians would react if the law was repealed.

The Delhi High Court's ruling that homosexual sex among consenting adults is not a crime is expected to boost an increasingly vocal pro-gay lobby in India that says the British-era law was a violation of human rights.
The current law bans "sex against the order of nature," and is widely interpreted to mean homosexual sex in India.

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