Is being gay legal in your country?

[Armageddon]

I am in luck it is legal in my country to be gay.

I can not marry or adopt children but that may change if the time comes.

[ramza81]

It's illegal in my country to be gay T_T

[g_roch]

It is legal here in the US, but I don't live in one of the states where I can get married. I do live in a state where my husband and I can (and did) get a "civil union", which in this state, is marriage without the name, or the federal or international recognition. In 5-10 years I'm guessing the legislators will turn our civil union into marriage, but it probably won't be recognized by the federal government in that time. I also live in a state where we can adopt either individually or as a couple.

The laws are confusing, complicated and inconsistent here in the US.

[klobbi]

I live in Iceland and here gay people have the same rights as the straight people. I'm allowed to get married... in a church, adopt and everything else. The only thing we haven't been allowed to do yet is give blood.

[noveascomomeponest]

In Spain is legal to be gay, get married and adopt. Best regards dudes!

[jinger]

Here in Italy you can fuck men if you wish, but as far as the law is concerned homosexuality doesn't exist. We have a lot of gay bashings, though they are rarely reported because mostly it's a pretty useless thing to do. Sexual assaults are also common, particularly among lesbians, gay minors, transvestites, and transsexuals. Verbal abuse is tolerated even in the parliament.

[thelittlestbird]

It's perfectly legal to be gay anywhere. An unjust law is no law at all.

[Irrumator]

Here in Italy you can fuck men if you wish, but as far as the law is concerned homosexuality doesn't exist. We have a lot of gay bashings, though they are rarely reported because mostly it's a pretty useless thing to do. Sexual assaults are also common, particularly among lesbians, gay minors, transvestites, and transsexuals. Verbal abuse is tolerated even in the parliament.

Is Italy not subject to EU law? Or do they just ignore it?

[jinger]

We ignore it. We'd rather pay fines than allow gay marriage anywhere near the Vatican. That is, gay marriage or any law that doesn't conform to the Catholic idea that the non-straight population should be oppressed.

[Bentschi]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_by_country_or_territory

[g_roch]

It's perfectly legal to be gay anywhere. An unjust law is no law at all.

Unfortunately, unjust laws are still very real, as the 5 men who were recently arrested in Cameroon for having sex and the Afghan woman who has served 3 years for being raped are currently experiencing.

[streetskater]

Well yeah I guess being gay is "legal" in the United States but only just barely. Anti-sodomy laws were on the books into the 1980's. The USA is not in the forefront of any Gay Rights Movement. What's worse is that we find out that it's in no small part American Neo-fundamentalists "missionaries" that are actors behinds the scenes in truly fucked up countries like Uganda.

[The_clueless]

Here in Sweden gay people have the same rights as straight people adoption, marriage etc. Just not allowed to give blood, but they are talking about changing the law about that one.

[jinger]

Bless Sweden Welcome to the forum, The_clueless

[js44100]

You might think gay sex is illegal in China, but actually that's not the case. The legal restrictions were taken off the books many years ago.

It's no gay paradise, of course -- the closet is widespread, but that's because of family (not religious or governmental) pressure. There's no idea of nondiscrimination in employment, housing, medical care etc. (so I have to stay at least moderately discreet). And it'll be a good long while before gay pride events are allowed on the mainland (though Hong Kong hosted a pride festival just a couple of weeks ago).

But, unlike in, say, Singapore, I can fuck my boyfriend silly, no crime

[g_roch]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_by_country_or_territory

There's value in hearing what the rules really are, not just what the laws say they are. Particularly when there is tremendous subtlety. You'd be surprised how many non-Americans believed that the Prop 8 vote in California affected the entire USA. Or how few Americans understand that in much of Europe, while you can get married or "not-married" (civil unions, civil partnerships), you can't adopt (the reverse is true in much of the USA - we can adopt, but we can't get married or "not-married"). Hearing the hodge podge of rules and regulations from real people helps us understand how silly all of it is.

Well yeah I guess being gay is "legal" in the United States but only just barely. Anti-sodomy laws were on the books into the 1980's.

Actually, they're still on the books in 13 or 14 or 18 states (depending on which unreliable source you cite). Lawrence v Texas made them unenforceable, but that was in 2003. And Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas still have gays-only anti-sodomy laws on the books.

[jinger]

Anti-sodomy laws were on the books into the 1980's

Here in Italy, homosexuals were still persecuted or punished in the days of Benito Mussolini, but homosexuality itself stopped being a crime in 1890.

[Bentschi]

There's value in hearing what the rules really are, not just what the laws say they are. Particularly when there is tremendous subtlety. You'd be surprised how many non-Americans believed that the Prop 8 vote in California affected the entire USA. Or how few Americans understand that in much of Europe, while you can get married or "not-married" (civil unions, civil partnerships), you can't adopt (the reverse is true in much of the USA - we can adopt, but we can't get married or "not-married"). Hearing the hodge podge of rules and regulations from real people helps us understand how silly all of it is.

Dave, I never said or intimated anything contrary to this. I'm mystified as to why you'd quote a link I posted and assume that was my intention. As to "what the rules really are", that's a highly subjective statement. Whether laws are administered fairly or consistently will vary with the person asked, and whether or not those laws are enforced or not is highly subjective to the context in which the laws were violated and whom the involved parties are. Often this is based on little more than arbitrary decisions by the person or persons whose task it is to enforce the laws on any of a number of levels. There are societal, cultural and various other considerations to take into account when one defines "being gay" in any sense, let alone a legal one. OP didn't define what he meant. Therefore I posted a link to a page that listed the legal conditions which were gay-specific.

[othello]

Legal or not men suck cock everywhere.. has done for ages. lol

[luis hector]

In Argentina gay marriage is legal. Currently being treated in parliament the law of sexual identity that will identify with the sex to which one wants to belong. It is intended for transsexuals.