I just saw this story: all I know about it is what the AP is telling me.
Alone among major Western nations, the United States has refused to sign a declaration presented Thursday at the United Nations calling for worldwide decriminalization of homosexuality.
Not surprising--we're still living in Bush's America--but it's shameful, and it seems to offer an ideal opportunity for Obama to speak out in favor of human rights for gays and lesbians.
France and the Netherlands co-sponsored the declaration, which was signed by all 27 European Union members, as well as Japan, Australia, Mexico and three dozen other countries. Many Muslim countries opposed it, along with the good old US of A. Who said Bush couldn't find common cause with Iran?
To be clear, this isn't about anti-gay laws, those allowing for discrimination; this is about outright criminalization of homosexuality. The AP points out that:
More than 70 U.N. members outlaw homosexuality, and in several of them homosexual acts can be punished by execution.
And what was the ostensible reason that the U.S. effectively supported the criminalization of homosexuality?
According to some of the declaration's backers, U.S. officials expressed concern in private talks that some parts of the declaration might be problematic in committing the federal government on matters that fall under state jurisdiction. In numerous states, landlords and private employers are allowed to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation; on the federal level, gays are not allowed to serve openly in the military
Ah, they were worried about protecting our own discrimination. But, uh, the declaration was non-binding.