*Well, Duh
Travel Blog • Jim Benning • 08.01.05 | 1:09 PM ET
That was the response from a number of gay and lesbian newlyweds in Canada to a government travel warning that they might not be welcomed with open arms in other countries. Canada’s foreign affairs office issued the warning, noting that other nations may not recognize the same-sex marriages now legal in Canada, and may not even tolerate same-sex couples.
According to one news report, Stephen Loch, who heads a Canadian gay rights lobby group, “applauded the government for issuing the warning but added that most homosexuals know all too well the welcome mat might not be out for them everywhere.” Homosexuality is illegal in dozens of countries, from Romania and Uganda to Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, according to 2001 report by Amnesty International.
*Update/Correction: Romania decriminalized homosexuality in 2001, although according to a 2004 U.S. State Department report, NGOs there were complaining of “a high degree of hostility against homosexuals, including violence by police.” Hopefully that, too, will change soon.
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Jim Benning is the editor and co-founder of World Hum.
Guy Turner 08.01.05 | 5:34 PM ET
Jim Benning & Stepehen Loch are wrong - homosexuality is NOT illegal in Romania
jim Benning 08.01.05 | 5:44 PM ET
The 2001 Amnesty International report mentioned above cites the “criminalization of homosexuality” in Romania, which has led to torture. If the law changed, that’s good news, but it’s not reflected in the report.
Guy Turner 08.01.05 | 6:10 PM ET
2001? - this is the problem with lazy folks quoting references that are years old quoting them as current and not bothering to check the present situation.
H/Sex was decriminalised in Romania some years ago as a condition of joining the EU (expected Jan 2007).
Bucuresti has a good gay club and even an annual gay parade.
Jim Benning 08.01.05 | 6:57 PM ET
Thanks for alerting us to the change. We don’t have the resources to do original reporting. We cite what we believe to be reliable sources and correct the record if a fact is wrong or has changed. I’ve updated the blog item.