Battling Homophobia: Same-Sex Marriage Bans Across the Globe
A look at bans on homosexuality across globe.
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Battling Homophobia: Same-Sex Marriage Bans Across the Globe - Illinois became the 16th state to permit same-sex marriage on Nov. 20 and more states are predicted to follow suit since the U.S. expanded federal benefits for married gay couples. But as the United States becomes more liberal, nations such as India and Russia have been making headlines for their harsh laws on LGBT relationships. BET.com takes a look at the battle that gays and lesbians are facing domestically and beyond. — Dominique Zonyéé(Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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India’s Anti-Gay Sex Law - India’s lower court decriminalized homosexual conduct in 2009, but on Dec. 11, a supreme court struck down the lower court decision, making same-sex relations illegal yet again. "We cannot be forced back into the closet. We are not backing off from our fight against discrimination," said Gautam Bhan, an activist who had petitioned the court.(Photo: Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
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Uganda’s “Kill the Gays” Bill Resurfaces - Since Uganda’s Anti-Homosexual Bill was put on the table in 2009, it is still one vote away from becoming a law. But the current trial of a British man accused of "trafficking obscene publications” when a laptop featuring images of him having sex with another man was stolen, has put the bill at center stage again.(Photo: REUTERS/James Akena)
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Senegal Is “Not Ready to Decriminalize Homosexuality” - While on a visit to Africa in July, President Obama encouraged African leaders to extend equal rights to gays and lesbians, but was met with strong opposition from Senegalese President Macky Stall. Senegal's penal code imposes prison sentences of up to five years and fines of up to $3,000 for committing "an improper or unnatural act with a person of the same sex."(Photo: REUTERS/Normand Blouin )
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Russia and the Sochi Winter Olympic Games Controversy - Russia is set to host the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi in February, but the nation’s ban on homosexual “propaganda,” signed by President Vladimir Putin in June, is causing athletes and public figures to protest. Although many athletes planned to speak out at the games in 2014, the International Olympics Committee warned athletes not to petition because they “will not get involved.”(Photo: AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky, File)
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