I am at loss of words. I can't imagine how I could live in a country like this. My country is homophobic (not violent), one of many reasons I want to emigrate, but compared to this - I am living in gay heaven   I can only hope that all world will go into the right direction (not just modern/democratic/etc countries) and it will happen faster. It just looks strange how some justify killing, taking somebody's life because of such reasons. It kind of makes love (or just sex) bigger crime than killing. It's simple logic - murder is a crime, not two consenting adults having sex. Religion, laws and social norms shouldn't distort this simple truth.

They are not the same thing, however they are supposed to be treated the same in most cases.  This is one of the cases where both are supposed to be treated the same.. Areas like work and private pensions can exclude transferring the pension benefits to civil partners, but they have to give it to hetero married partners.

I could only find one reference to this in Gay Republic News (on a Google search) and this site appears to have lots of news articles but no way to contact them.  It is hard to believe something this major would only have one reference. 2006 wasn't that long ago.

It is impossible to think of all the possible interpretations - I immediately went from G-Men = Gay men!  Thinking you were making a joke. (about what G-men might mean - since it is a pretty aniquated term and not used very much except in very old movies.) Well, I don't know why anyone would assume ALL or most FBI would be Gay because of JEH - Both Gays and Straights (homophobic or not) agree that Gays are a small percentage of total population. I think the knee jerk part is what I already said Gay = Bad, and we (the FBI)  venerate Hoover for being a really cool guy who made the FBI sophisticated and gee, a Gay guy couldn't possibly have done this AND as a straight person, I really don't want to contemplate that someone this smart and who was a lot of people's boss in the past, could be Gay. Then again, you could be right or we both could be.  Since people seldom tell the whole truth in polls like this, we may never know.

I'm really surprised - I was under the impression in October that Electric Car joke was removed from the movie as well.  It was discussed quite a bit on radio here where I live.  That said, I wouldn't say 21 million was so terrible compared to 31 million.  Nor can I assume the low(er) amount was due to anti-Gay slurs.  If only that was the case for certain!  I'm glad GLAAD and Cooper started the firestorm which means we're making progress, but much more analysis is needed to make such a conclusion. The other unfortunate thing, is the radio host who discussed this is actually pretty moderate and it always takes something negative like this for Gays to get mentioned.  Well, almost always.  I defniitely know he is not anti-gay because he does report on positive news, like marriage successes (briefer than other topics!) in that, though, he just reflects the broader culture - and the majority of people, even IF tolerant, would prefer not to discuss homosexuality at all, if possible!

Soccer

So very sickening and sad.  I had a similar incident with a drunken sailor in the Gaslight District of San Diego, California.  A drunken bully making cliche slurs to impress his navel buddies. Though most seemed more embarrassed by his behavior than supportive of it.  Once I stood up to him he immediately backed down.  It could have turned ugly though.  This is one of the reasons I caution those who are over excited by Obama's repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."  Hate has no respect and obeys no laws.  (I know this sounds immature, but I hope the killer bitch gets what she has coming in prison. Maybe she won't, but  I do believe in Karma.)

Having voluntarily served in the U.S. Military, including a stint with Desert Storm, this is good news indeed!  It was wrong and felt wrong every time I had a physical which included the question of same sex action, and had to lie.  But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves.  Just as with civil rights, long after the law is in place, it will take a generation or two before there is true full acceptance.  It will not be easy for anyone to be fully out in our military.  It's currently ripe with racial tension.  There are plenty of closeted queer-haters as well.  But Obama does deserve a big applause for having the guts to bring the topic forward and to a conclusion.  A man I would gladly serve under!

My guess would be sometime before the apocalypse and if not… we'll never know the difference anyways :rotfl:

Thank you Spintendo for this most informative article. We too easily forget these countries and think we have it the worst in the world for Gay Rights. 

To my pleasant surprise both NC senators voted to repeal it. Yay!!!

Europe is still a continent where coming out and assuming himself as gay isn't an easy task. Even in most progressive and relaxed countries like Netherlands, Belgium or Switzerland. The laws are the mirror of our society. We still live in societies where homosexuality is NOT the norm, we live in society FORCED BY SUPERIOR ETHICS VALUE to accept homosexuality whether as not deviant whether as deviant-from-the-norm-but-acceptable. In such a context, I'm not sure we have a right to critic the US action from countries where laws don't reflect citizen opinions. And stop to blame all the republicans, there are also progressive people in this party, for example Log Cabin Republicans (who are the ones who filled the lawsuit challenging the DADT policy this summer and got a permanent injunction against this policy in October by a federal court: hxxp://www.scribd.com/doc/39202612/Permanent-Injunction-of-DADT-October-12-2010) or the 8 senators who vote the repell. EDIT: (MrMazda 2010-12-20) - Disabled live link. Please do not post live links in the forum.

Joint Chiefs Split on 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Repeal As expected, the Marine Corps commandant, Gen. James Amos, recommended against repeal of the ban on gays serving openly in the armed forces. Testifying Friday before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Amos said he could not "turn my back'' on the 45 percent of Marines who expressed negative views of repealing "Don't ask, don't tell" in a year-long Pentagon survey. "The young men and women who volunteer to be Marines do so with honorable and patriotic intensions, and even vast differences in background, beliefs or personalities can be bridged,'' Amos told the Senate Armed Services Committee. But among Marine combat arms units, 56 percent said allowing openly gay or lesbian Marines to serve would have negative impacts on fighting effectiveness and cohesion. He said that view was held almost uniformly across all ranks. "We asked for their opinions and they gave them to us. Their message to me is that the potential exists for disruption to the successful execution of our current combat mission should repeal be implemented at this time.'' But, he added, "based on what I know about the very tough fight on the ground in Afghanistan, the almost singular focus of our combat forces as they train up and deploy into theater, the necessary tightly woven culture of those combat forces that we are asking so much of at this time . . . my recommendation is that we should not implement repeal at this time.'' Amos and the other three military service chiefs were testifying at the second of two days of hearings into potential repeal of DADT. Of the four chiefs, two not only said their troops could accommodate serving with openly gay service members, but they outright urged that Congress act to repeal the law: Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz. The Army's chief of staff, Gen. George W. Casey, did not recommend repeal. But he told the committee that after weighing all the evidence, "I don't envision that repeal would keep us from accomplishing our worldwide missions, including combat operations.'' However, both Casey and Schwartz said they believed the law should not be repealed immediately. "I don't believe the presence of a gay or lesbian service member creates an unacceptable risk to good order and discipline – and from the survey it appears a large number of our service members don't believe that either,'' Casey said. "But it's a question of timing. I would not recommend going forward at this time given everything the Army has on its plate.'' Schwartz said immediate implementation would be "too risky . . . perhaps full implementation in 2012 at the earliest.'' Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, urged Congress Thursday to lift the ban on gays in the military. That would allow, they said, for an orderly process of implementation. In the legislation that would repeal the law is a provision requiring that the president, defense secretary and joint chiefs chairman -- with the advice of the service chiefs -- certify that all steps have been taken to ensure an orderly implementation of repeal and that the change would not negatively affect military effectiveness. Should Congress fail to act, they said, the risk is that the courts will order the ban to be lifted immediately, throwing the military into chaos.

No Sex for Gays at Qatar World Cup? Was FIFA Chief Joking? (Dec. 15) – Gay soccer fans unsure about attending the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal, should rest assured that they can attend the games ... as long as they refrain from sex, that is. That's according to FIFA chief Sepp Blatter, who stuck his foot in his mouth at a press conference in Johannesburg when he suggested jokingly that gays would be welcome at the games but should "refrain from any sexual activities" while in Qatar. Blatter did say that he wanted the World Cup to be inclusive. "We don't want racism, we don't want any discrimination. What we want to do is open this game to everybody, and to open it to all cultures, and this is what we are doing in 2022," he told reporters Monday. But his off-color attempt to make gay spectators feel welcome didn't win Blatter any fans, or laughs either. On his blog, John Amaechi, the former NBA star who is openly gay, said he was "enraged" and planned to file a complaint with FIFA. "This is yet another case where the epic, archaic, neanderthal ignorance of someone who wields the power to summon kings, princes, presidents and prime ministers to bid at their pleasure uses that power not to foster positive change but to further entrench bigotry," he wrote. Most found the remarks seriously unfunny. "Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar. It is not a joke. It is not tolerated in the Muslim state and carries a prison sentence of five years," CBC Sports' Nigel Reed wrote today. Others, though, said it wasn't all that clear whether Blatter, who has a history of making awkward and insensitive remarks, was kidding at all. "Not exactly known for his discretion, Blatter brushed this off as a joke. That's always the line when someone of prominence makes a stupid or hateful remark -- as if jokes weren't often the most honest things we said," Alexander Nazaryan wrote at the New York Daily News. Sponsored Links Blatter's remarks about, well, the African continent, didn't win him any fans, either. Monday, he praised the effect of the 2010 World Cup on Africa. "A new era of Afro-optimism has swept across the continent and the world," he said in Johannesburg. "Africans have always believed in themselves. Now the world believes in them, too. The World Cup contributed a great deal to this change of perception." "Excuse me while I vomit in the nearest available bucket," Jonty Mark wrote at IoL Sport in South Africa. FIFA could not be reached for comment today, because it is located in Switzerland, where it's offices are closed.