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Gay Civil Rights in India
Promoted by Visiting Judges



By Rex Wockner
International News Report

Two gay judges visiting from overseas promoted gay rights in Mumbai, India, January 8, the Times of India reported.

Australian Justice Michael Kirby and South African Justice Edwin Cameron told a gay conference that convincing the media to include gay characters on television entertainment programs could be an important goal.

"We need to blow away that spell cast on people to keep quiet about their sexual identities," Kirby said. "We had a program featuring gays in Australia and believe me, it did more for furthering the community's cause than anything else."

In December, the AIDS organization Naz Foundation filed suit in the Delhi High Court against India's ban on gay sex, Penal Code Section 377.

The organization says the law violates constitutional rights to life, liberty and equal protection under the law, and impedes HIV prevention work.

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Section 377 punishes "carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal" with up to life in prison.

Kirby is a member of Australia's High Court. Cameron sits on South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal. In 1999, he revealed that he is HIV-positive.



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