UN Gay Rights Declaration Signed by Obama Administration

Two bits of news in one post today. One is happy, one decidedly less so.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States, in a reversal of Bush administration policy, has decided to sign on to a U.N. declaration that calls for the decriminalization of homosexuality, the State Department said on Wednesday.

State Department spokesman Robert Wood said the Obama administration, which took office eight weeks ago, would now join 66 other U.N. member states who supported a U.N. statement in December that condemned human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

“The United States is an outspoken defender of human rights and critic of human rights abuses around the world,” Wood told reporters.

“As such, we join with other supporters of this statement, and we will continue to remind countries of the importance of respecting the human rights of all people in all appropriate international fora.”

The United States was the only western state not to sign on to the gay rights document. All European Union member states endorsed it, as did Canada, Australia and Japan.

As I read that yesterday, I couldn’t help but think “So what?” As the administration points out, there’s absolutely no legal obligation to this signing. It’s still legal to fire a gay person because he’s gay. It’s still legal to kick a lesbian out of her apartment because you don’t like lesbians. Honestly, signing this declaration should be an easy decision. What difference does it make?

Then the Box Turtle Bulletin linked to a video from Gays Without Borders. As Jim said over at BTB, only watch the video if you have a strong stomach. I’m still shaking from it, but I think it’s important to face what’s really going on in the world. This video was taken in Iran sometime in the past few weeks.

Update: BTB reports this afternoon that the video was misidentified by Gays Without Borders. I’ve pulled it here, and put in its place the first part of the 2007 CBC documentary Out in Iran: Inside Iran’s Secret Gay World.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu_tiFZjNQY[/youtube]
According to the article on the UN Declaration:

…homosexuality is illegal in 77 countries, seven of which punish it by death.

Before we get too high on our horse, being gay has only been legal in the United States since 2003.

The only difference between the Sharia in Iran and the Religious Right in the United States is degree of success.

The Obama Administration’s agreement to sign the UN declaration on homosexuality may not stop my Iranian brothers from being murdered by their government, but it’s a clear signal to the Religious Right that the days of their advance are coming to an end.