A Small Step

You've probably seen the news already, but the United States has endorsed a call by the United Nations to decriminalize homosexuality all over the world. Now, the statement by the U.N. is non-binding, so they're not going to actually force the 70 U.N. member countries that make it illegal to be LGBT to change anything, but it's still a step in the right direction.

It's also a pretty big gesture of change by the Obama administration, since the last occupant of the Oval Office had refused to let the United States back this resolution. While they never actually needed any reason for this beyond their own homophobia and general dismissal of human and civil rights, the logic the Bush Administration used was that supporting this non-binding resolution might endanger 'States Rights'. The rights, in other words, for a state to discriminate in housing and employment laws against LGBT people. It also may have jeopardized, or so they felt, their stance on gays in the military.

We were the only Western country not to endorse this under Bush, highlighting yet again how backwards and out of touch his administration was.

It sickens me that in so many countries across the globe people are still punished and even executed by their Governments for being the person they were born to be. They might as well criminalize having blue eyes or execute them for being too tall, since that would make just as much sense.

So this is a big gesture by President Obama, but still a largely symbolic one. Lets see some real progress, not only in the global community but right here at home. There are so many equality issues facing gays and lesbians that need to be addressed in this country, from marriage to discrimination in employment, to not being allowed to serve our country in the military unless we lie about who we are. These are but a few of the issues that we're fighting for real change on.

It's wonderful that our nation supports decriminalization the world over, but we're still second class citizens in our own country in many ways and changing that needs to be a top priority.