“The one thing we can’t have is a rule—unwritten or explicit—that says discrimination is justified if the person discriminating really, really objects to the excluded group,” writes law professor Garrett Epps. “Whether explained in religious terms or not, that undermines the entire idea of civil rights.”
“The Iraqi refugee I interviewed told me that on social media earlier this year, he saw images of a rooftop execution and learned later that the victim — unrecognizable because he was blindfolded and shown mostly from behind — was a friend of his who hadn’t left Iraq.”
Photo from The Daily Mail: Two ISIS militants wait for an order to throw the men over the edge of the building.
Legal experts say the victories “represent significant progress on human rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and have broader implications with regard to countries’ obligations to uphold basic rights” of those who live in the margins.
Zambian gay rights activist Paul Kasonkomona leaving magistrate court.
AFP/GETTY IMAGES
"In more than 75 countries worldwide, you can be arrested simply on the basis of your sexual orientation. These countries have a collective population of over 3 billion -- nine times the number of people living in the U.S. and almost 43 percent of the world's population. In eight of those countries, it's perfectly legal to be sentenced to death for being gay or lesbian."
Image Credit: The Daily Beast
Randy Berry: “There’s a superb example of Latin leadership that has certainly predated our entry into this space as a foreign policy issue. I see very enlightened government engagement. I see an active partnering with civil society.”
Uruguayans celebrate the legislature’s vote last April to allow same-sex marriages. Andres Stapff/Reuters
