Tag: decriminalization

It stems from the recent execution in Iran, a US foe Donald Trump and his administration are launching a global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality in countries across the world where being gay is still a crime. NBC News reported the campaign is starting Tuesday evening (19 February) in Berlin. US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, the highest-profile openly gay person in the Trump administration, is at the forefront. Reportedly, the US Embassy is flying in LGBTI activists across Europe for a dinner and strategy plan. The efforts will...

The African country’s parliament replaced the colonial-era penal code Angola on Wednesday (23 January) became the first country this year to decriminalize gay sex. Lawmakers finally implemented a bill to overhaul to the southwestern African country’s 1886 penal code. They dropped a ‘vices against nature’ provision which was historically used to prosecute against gay sex. The new code also bans discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment. It passed with 155 votes in favor, one against, and seven abstentions. The country’s ruling party...

His sister repeatedly outed him, during a time when gay sex was illegal in Trinidad and Tobago and he could've been put in jail for life Andrew Joseph (not his real name), 26, is originally from a small island in the Caribbean known as Trinidad and Tobago. Growing up, he confided in his sister about his sexuality when he was 17 years old. But he never thought she’d use it against him. When Andrew was 20, he developed a crush on a...

'I think it is something that is bound to happen' President Nana Akufo-Addo has said Ghana may decriminalize gay sex. Having been in power since January, this is a landmark decision from one of the most powerful figures in Africa. In an interview with Al-Jazeera, Akufo-Addo was asked about the situation for the LGBTI community. Gay sex is illegal in Ghana, but for how long? Gay sex is illegal in Ghana. It can result in up to three years of imprisonment for those found...

The French got the right idea much earlier than other major nations, decriminalizing homosexuality in 1791. The legalization of homosexual acts between two consenting adults came as part of the French Penal Code of 1791, during the French Revolution. The code was sponsored by French politican Louis-Michel le Peletier, who presented the code as a clear guide to crimes and their respective punishments. It was a major shift in legal procedure, taking power away from judges and instead outlining explicitly what...