Gay discrimination

Doicaru Laura
Ene Ioana

What is homophobia?
Homophobia is the hatred or

fear of homosexuals - that is,

lesbians and gay men sometimes leading to acts of
violence and expressions of
hostility. Homophobia is not
confined to any one segment
of society, and can be found
in people from all walks of
life. Organized hate groups
have viciously attacked
homosexuals and have used
especially violent language
in attempting to persecute
and intimidate them.

Forms of discrimination
Discrimination against homosexuals comes in

many forms:
homophobic beliefs lead people toward prejudiced
actions at work, at schools, at clubs and in many
other areas as well.
Many church and religious groups maintain that
homosexual behavior is a sin and runs counter to the
will of God as expressed in certain Biblical passages.
Up until 1980, many psychiatrists still looked upon
homosexuality as a mental disorder. Today, medical
professionals believe that homosexuality is not an
illness, mental disorder or emotional problem.

Homophobia is most

dangerous when it serves

as the justification for
violent actions against
homosexuals
In recent years attacks on

homosexuals have risen

and what is most
disturbing is the cruelty
and viciousness of many of
these attacks.

Efforts to combat homophobia

Most internationalhuman rightsorganizations,

such asHuman Rights WatchandAmnesty

International, condemn laws that make
homosexual relations between consenting adults
a crime. Since 1994, theUnited NationsHuman
Rights Committeehas also ruled that such laws
violated the right to privacy guaranteed in
theUniversal Declaration of Human Rightsand
theInternational Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights. In 2008, theRoman Catholic Churchissued
a statement which "urges States to do away with
criminal penalties against [homosexual persons]."

The Netherlands
became the first
country to legalize gay
marriage in 2001.
Since then, 10 more
countries worldwide
have legalized gay
marriage including
South Africa, Belgium,
Sweden, Canada, Spain,
Norway, Iceland,
Argentina, and Portugal.

Romania, like a number of other Eastern

European countries, remains

sociallyconservativewith regard to the rights
of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender
citizens. Despite this, the country has made
significant progress in LGBT rights legislation
since 2000.
In 2006, Romania was named by Human
Rights Watch as one of five countries in the
world that had made "exemplary progress in
combating rights abuses based on sexual
orientation or gender identity.

Laws against homosexuality

The Romanian Penal Code of 1864,

modelled on the French Penal Code, did

not treat homosexual relations different
from heterosexual ones, and thus,
homosexuality was only illegal if it was
done on an unconsensual basis.This code
remained in effect for almost threequarters of a century. Then in 1937, a
new code limited reference to
homosexuality except in cases of rape. A
short time later, Article 431 was
introduced, stating that homosexuality
could be illegal if it caused "public
scandal", but not otherwise. A repeal of
that language then appeared in the Penal
Code of 1948. In 1968, the basic code
was again revised, introducingArticle
200. and moving the infraction from the
public domain into the private.

There are currently no laws against gay

citizens inRomania, aside from those that

denyequality in marriage. Consensual acts
between same-sex adults in private were
legalised in 1996, although the last anti-gay
law Article 200 of the Penal Code, which
criminalised public manifestations of
homosexuality was repealed only on 28 June
2000 due to pressure from theEuropean
Counciland shortly before the arrival of
openly gay U.S. Ambassador to
RomaniaMichael Guest.

 Since 2002, theage of consentis equal for both

heterosexual and homosexual sex, at 15 years of age.

In late 2007, the far-rightGreater Romania Party proposed a

law in theSenatethat would ban the "propagation of ideas

and manifestations by homosexuals and lesbians", designed
primarily to prevent Bucharest's annualGayFestpride
parade from taking place. The proposal was rejected by the
Senate on 11 February 2008, with 17 votes for, 16
abstentions and 27 votes against

Gay celebrities
Adam Lambert- singer;
Alexi Laiho- vocal in Children

Of Bodom;
Anderson Cooper- CNN host;
Neil Patrick Harris- actor (How

I Met Your Mother);

Rob Halford- vocal in Judas

Priest;
Sean Hayes- The handsome

Will & Grace star.

Ellen Degeneres-Tv host

What people think about the LGBT

community:
I dont like them. They disgust me
Im not ok with gay relationships. What my

child would think if he sees a gay kiss?

Theres no problem. They are people like us.
Why should I hate them?
Oh my god, what a subject!
Are you kidding me?
Im fine with it
Its not my problem

Questions
What is your opinion about gay people?
Would you change something about laws?
Do you think they should adopt children?

Why?
How youll react if you see a gay kiss?