Rotherham, July 31, 1950. English school teacher wearing female’s clothes and wig murdered for approaching a male.
London, Sept 1990. Barrister, hotelier, porter, stabbed to death for being gay.
Soho, May 1999. Gay pub bombed killing three & wounding 70.
London, 14th Oct 2005. Gay man beaten to death in a homophobic murder.
U.K, March 3, 2009. 60 year old gay couple stabbed.
Statistics say that since April there has been an increase in homophobic violence by 18% in UK alone. 1192 cases of homophobic violence have already been lodged with the police even before the end of the year and this is despite the fact that more and more people are accepting the homosexuals to be a part of the society and fighting for their rights as an equal.
THE BOTTOM LINE?? In the 21st century, when a new government accepts gay union every day, the gays and lesbians are living in the fear of their lives.
Kent, England, witnessed a gay couple, in their 40s and 50s, flee, following homophobic abuses for weeks. They came back home regularly, to find it daubed by graffiti, and lived in the threat of an attack by not just the adults but even 10 year old kids.
Eudy Simelane, a soccer player of the South Africa’s national women’s team was found murdered outside Johannesburg in April 2008. She had been gang-raped before being stabbed to death, because she was homosexual. South African gays still face rapes and violence, particularly in rural areas. “When you talk about black lesbian women, there are multiple levels of oppression…. They live in poor, mainly black communities where there are levels of poverty and where sex and rape become ways to ‘proove’ masculinity,” says the director of South African gay rights group Out.
This violence does not come only in the form of physical abuse. Mental abuse plays an equal role in bringing down the livelihood qualities of the homosexuals all around us.
The opposers of the same-sex marriages say that it “would erode religious freedoms” and “undermines a right of children to be raised by their biological mother and father”. They fail to see that these kids, who are not being allowed to live with the so called “anomaly” of ‘same sex parents’, could altogether lose their only chance of being raised in a family environment with all the love and care they deserve.
People continuously look up to the religions for guidance. But which religion should the LGBT follow?? The bible condemns the gay togetherness and the church with all its teachings and preaching does not look like it is taking a unified stand on the issue and still stands to oppose gay marriages as avidly as ever. But to give them their due there are the followers of God who do not judge them like the Catholic Church does.
Its time somebody reminded them that Jesus himself had said: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” Matthew 5:11
Swami Ramdev from India, who has made yoga a sensation across the world, widely traveling in cruises curing a number of diseases, came out to say that being a gay was an ailment too and lo behold !! He even claimed to be able to cure it. In July 2009, India took a bold step by decriminalizing homosexuality, whereas Ramdev told the press “The verdict will encourage criminality and sick mentality. This kind of thing is shameful and insulting. We are blindly following the West in everything. This is breaking the family system in India. Homosexuals are sick people, they should be sent to hospitals for treatment. If the government brings this law, I will take to the streets of Delhi in protest”.
And I wont even venture into the religion of Islam. Yes, you guessed it right-they denounce the whole concept of homosexuality
Well!! Among all these black clouds, (must say there are many), there is a streak of silver lining. A large number of countries, have already accepted gay unions in one form or the other, including 50 states in US. By 2010, Nepal (yes, Nepal) may just be another country which may be added to the list even though Europe still hasn’t made a stand on the issue and Australia still denies to recognize same-sex marriages at the federal level like France.
And then exists Uganda, where an anti-homosexuality bill is being put to the parliament, making gay relations between disabled people and those under 18, a capital offense.
Its high time we create a world where the LGBT can accept who they are without being afraid of violence or without facing degradation in any form. The legal acceptance will follow automatically, if we know how to accept them in our lives. Remember, they are not sick, they are not recreation of the devil, they are just like you and me, trying to make a life for themselves. A time will come, when the kids wont know what or who the LGBT are. Either there wont be a distinction anymore or things may be worse than ever. THE CHOICE AS ALWAYS….IS IN OUR HANDS!!!
No related posts.
