INDIA UNBANS GAY SEX

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

• India’s Supreme Court struck down one of the oldest bans on consensual gay sex
• Chief Justice Divall Misra said the law was “irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary.”
• On the steps of an iconic courthouse in Bangalore, people danced, kissed, and hugged tightly
• Gay Indians are now to be accorded all the protections of the Constitution

HISTORICAL COMPARISONS

• June 26, 2015
• US Supreme Court Makes Gay Marriage Legal in All 50 US States
• May 23, 2015
• Ireland Becomes First Country to Legalize Gay Marriage by Popular Vote
• The US has excelled in projecting “soft power” which uses attraction and persuasion to influence behavior (using culture, political values, & positive global engagement)

FUTURE IMPLICATIONS

• 69 other countries still have laws that criminalize same-sex sexual activity between consenting adults
• In places like Iran, Sudan, and Yemen, people can end up on death row for openly being in same-sex relationships

THINKING POINTS

• Do you think it’s possible for all 69 other countries to, one day, legalize same-sex sexual activity?
• How do you think this will influence other countries who still have a ban on same-sex sexual activity?