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LGBTI community rallies in Delhi, calls for repeal of anti-gay law
Dozens of activists and members of Delhi’s LGBTI community held a protest in New Delhi today calling for the repeal of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which outlaws sexual relations between men, equal treatment and an end to the ‘homophobic’ policies of the central government.
The rally comes just days after Subramanian Swamy, a leader of the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), called homosexuality a ‘genetic disorder.’ He said that while gay men and lesbians should not be discriminated against for jobs or socially ostracized, ‘we cannot celebrate nor can we publicize it.’
On Tuesday, he tweeted a reply to a user saying, ‘The issue is not about respect. We respect physically challenged persons. Homos are genetically handicapped.’
Following the SCOTUS ruling, Union Law Minister Sadananda Gowda reportedly hinted – then later denied – that the government is considering scrapping the anti-gay law.
Activists at the protest say India should catch up and treat its LGBTI citizens as it would other citizens.
Gautam Bhan said, ‘I think one by one the countries are moving, the map of the world is changing colors. It’s an inevitability because no matter what comes out of the languages of power in everyday life and every Indian city, we can see the changes and the reaction to every rights expansion whether it is in the US or in Mozambique.
‘When will people realize the wind has changed and there’s no going back?’ He told Indian news agency Asian News International (ANI).
In 2013, the Supreme Court of India overturned a Delhi High Court verdict that effectively scrapped Section 377 sparking an international uproar by LGBTI rights advocates.
The apex court later put the onus on the government, saying it is free to bring a legislation to scrap the law.
The post LGBTI community rallies in Delhi, calls for repeal of anti-gay law appeared first on Gay Star News.
Sylvia Tan
www.gaystarnews.com/article/lgbti-community-rallies-in-delhi-calls-for-repeal-of-anti-gay-law/
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