baby steps, but thunderous baby steps

[rm]

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2009/03/obama-decrimina.html

The Obama administration said today it will sign on to a United Nations declaration calling for the decriminalization of homosexuality around the world.

There's some wibbly wobbly bullshit as you read further down, but at least we're up to the wibbly wobbly bullshit with this administration.

Comments

[demotu.livejournal.com]

Isn't sodomy still illegal in some states? Or is this just one of those myths Canadians spread about Americans?

[rm.livejournal.com]

Until very recently it was. That was struck down by the supreme court sometime in the last five years (after previously having been upheld). It is, however, still illegal in the U.S. military -- this includes going down on your wife in heterosexual marriage.

Fucked. Up.

[demotu.livejournal.com]

.....

To quote Dan Savage, "did I mention blow jobs?"

(Oh wait, that's the Pope, not the US.)

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

I knew about Lawrence in 2003 (that's the court-case that finally struck those laws down). I didn't know about the military. WTF.

[rm.livejournal.com]

My knowledge of the whys and wherefores is hazy, but I've got a lot of vets on my friendslist, and I'm guessing one of them will stop by to help out at some point. I'm fairly sure Lawrence didn't touch military law on it, because it's a separate judicial channel, and it conceptually makes sense that soldier would have to adhere to different standards on various issues -- it being _these_ issues that I happen to think is a crock of shit.

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

I would accept as a given that there have to be separate laws for those under military discipline. But they do have to make some kind of military sense.
Fraternisation, for example. Granted, people in the same unit shouldn't date, and enlisted and officers must retain a certain distance.
But the Not Playing Cards on the Lords Day bits really have to go.
(Well, have, some places...)

[heron61.livejournal.com]

No, there was a Supreme Court case in 2003 that got rid of all sodomy laws.

[demotu.livejournal.com]

Aha. I thought for a moment I had no idea when/if we'd gotten rid of ours, and then I remembered Trudeau's line "the state has no place in the bedrooms of the nation", so it must have been the 60s.

*googles*

Oh, here: The Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968/69.

1968

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

I could have told you in my sleep.
Of course the age of consent for same-sex relations was still 21 until 1988.

Re: 1968

[demotu.livejournal.com]

Well, you know, it was twenty years before I was born. And we didn't make it past WWII in 10th grade history. ;) So I knew it existed but not the date.

Re: 1968

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

Sorry.
I thought we were all required to know the whole "the State has no business..." bit, as part of Our Proud Canadian Heritage.
It's like our "Let justice be done" speech or something.

Re: 1968

[demotu.livejournal.com]

Well, as that is the part I remembered best, clearly something worked!

Re: 1968

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

Yay! The System works!

[cantkeepsilent.livejournal.com]

Adultery is still illegal in some states (no idea how many, but it's at least four), including Maryland which punishes you with a completely awesome $10 fine.

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

And it's illegal in the Military.