In the United States of America, we are constantly discussing the matter of same sex marriage. From Prop 8 a few years ago to the current situation in New York State, when it comes to gay and lesbian rights, we tend to only focus on the issue of the right to marriage.
However, the whole aspect of gay marriage is a part of an even bigger issue. That issue is the matter of human and civil rights deprived from people all around the world because of their sexual orientation.
The leaders of the free world know this and are slowly working to gain that equality.
Friday, a resolution was passed by the United Nations Human Rights Council that is in favor of providing equal rights to all citizens of the world whether they are straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. The resolution was initially brought to the table by representatives from South Africa.
The vote in the end was actually a close one. While 23 nations voted to pass the resolution, 19 voted against it while some did not vote at all.
Suzanne Nossel, who works closely with the United Nations, said, “It really is a key part in setting a new norm that gay rights are human rights and that that has to be accepted globally. It talks about the violence and discrimination that people of the LGBT persuasion experience around the world,” and that the problems “need to be taken seriously.”
Nossel went on to say that it is a good sign that the United Nations is willing to take on the issue of gay rights because it forces nations that are against homosexuality or on the fence about it to open their minds and really discuss the matter in a practical and compassionate way.
According to Nossel, representatives from the United States were excited to see other nations, especially South Africa, Colombia, Brazil, and others in South America being in support of gay rights.
85 countries from the United Nations have already officially supported the motion to end violence against people for their gender and sexual orientation. Now there will be an official report on the struggles that gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual people have to deal with on a daily basis.
With the motions of the United Nations, it is obvious that the world is becoming more open to equality among all people. As a people, we have already fought off a great deal of racial inequality and gender inequality. The next step is equality for homosexuals and as expressed by the recent resolution by the United Nations, that equality is not too far off.
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