By Rex Wockner
International News Report
Chile repealed its ban on gay sex last month as part of a general
reform of sex-related laws, the International Gay & Lesbian Human
Rights Commission (IGLHRC) reported January 14.
Sexual relations between adults of the same gender had been
punishable with up to five years in prison.
Under the reform, the age of consent for gay sex was set at 18,
higher than for heterosexual sex.
"We hope that the governments of Nicaragua and Puerto Rico pay
attention to the news from Santiago," said Mirka Negroni, an
IGLHRC regional specialist. "These are the last states in Latin
America that still criminalize homosexual activity."
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Meanwhile, in the U.S.A., 19 of the 50 states still ban "sodomy,"
including five states that ban only homosexual sodomy (Arkansas,
Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas), IGLHRC said.
"These statutes don't just fly in the face of privacy and common
sense; they violate international law," said the group's Scott
Long.
In a case filed by gay activists in the Australian state of
Tasmania in 1994, the United Nations Human Rights Committee ruled
that prohibitions on gay sex violate the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights, of which the U.S.A. is a
signatory.
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Related Stories from the GayToday Archive:
Argentine Police Chief
Resigns After Anti-Gay Slurs
U.S. Looks at Anti-Gay Climate
in Latin America
Costa Rica Reportedly Bans Discrimination
Related Sites:
International Gay & Lesbian Human
Rights Commission
GayToday does not endorse related sites.
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As a result of the ruling, Tasmania legalized homosexuality.
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