Hands up all of you who are surprised....
The U.N.General Assembly put forth a declaration to decriminalize homosexuality around the world - it's still illegal in 77 countries to commit homosexual acts, and in several of those countries it is punishable by death.
The reaction was pretty predictable. The Vatican refused to sign, as did the Organization of Islamic Conference. Russia and China also refused to sign.
As so did the Land of the Free, the United States. Which surprises no one.
The excuse they used was the Bigot's Best Friend - States' Rights. "We are opposed to any discrimination, legally or politically, but the nature of our federal system prevents us from undertaking commitments and engagements where federal authorities don’t have jurisdiction."
In other words, "We'd love to do something about it, but we just can't, you know?"
*sigh* I wish I believed that was an honest answer as to why we didn't sign, rather than a slippery, legalistically true one.
The reaction was pretty predictable. The Vatican refused to sign, as did the Organization of Islamic Conference. Russia and China also refused to sign.
As so did the Land of the Free, the United States. Which surprises no one.
The excuse they used was the Bigot's Best Friend - States' Rights. "We are opposed to any discrimination, legally or politically, but the nature of our federal system prevents us from undertaking commitments and engagements where federal authorities don’t have jurisdiction."
In other words, "We'd love to do something about it, but we just can't, you know?"
*sigh* I wish I believed that was an honest answer as to why we didn't sign, rather than a slippery, legalistically true one.