by Rex Wockner
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Major European Union institutions issued statements and took other actions to commemorate the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia on May 17.
They included the European Parliament, the European Commission, the European Council, the European External Action Service, and the Fundamental Rights Agency. The only holdout was the Council of the European Union, currently chaired by Hungary.
May 17 is the day the World Health Organization decided 21 years ago that homosexuality isn't a mental illness.
"Homophobia is deplorable because it aims to denigrate people and deprive them of these rights on the basis of their sexual orientation," said European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek. "But as we celebrate the International Day Against Homophobia, we must also remember, which may be of special importance, that some people are not only deprived of their basic rights, but may be tortured and punished because of their sexual orientation. In some countries they may even face the death penalty. We have a duty to protect human rights wherever they are and in whatever form they take."
Gay sex is illegal in 76 nations. Laws allow for the death penalty in Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Yemen, 12 Nigerian states, and parts of Somalia.
