I guess I won't be going to India

Ever since I saw the movie Gandhi, I have been fascinated by India. It is a land that I always told myself that I would be going to at some point in my life. I know that it is a land of many religious beliefs. I can appreciate that. To me, that is part of the culture of the country. I enjoy meeting other people from other places different from myself and to try to appreciate their experiences and outlook on like.

I won't say that I live in such a shell as to think that being gay would be popular in India. I didn't expect that at all. I think sexuality is most always one small part of what a person is. It becomes a much larger issue if you feel that your life or freedom may be jeopardized because of it.

(New Delhi) The government of India says the public would never accept the decriminalization of homosexuality. In a brief presented to the country's Supreme Court, the government says that "Indian society is intolerant to the practice of homosexuality/lesbianism."

The high court is hearing an appeal by AIDS and gay groups that the country's sodomy law is unconstitutional. The so-called laws against nature allow for people convicted of homosexuality to be imprisoned up to life, although the maximum sentence is seldom handed out.

The government told the court Monday that society’s disapproval of homosexuality was "strong enough to justify it being treated as a criminal offence even where the adults indulge in it in private."

News Source: 365gay.com

Well, India isn't important enough to me to put myself into a culture that would put someone who is gay away for life. I realize that that would only happen if you were convicted of being gay (how ever that would come about, I don't know), but it wouldn't be worth the risk.

To my gay readership out there... ever notice how the world is becoming somewhat smaller in regards to places that we can travel to and feel safe? I read not so long ago about a cruise ship (with gay passengers) that was not being allowed to dock at some seaport. The cruise line was totally surprised by the event. I guess you can never know what will happen if you travel anywhere that's not the United States. I felt safe traveling to the US Virgin Islands, but then again, we own them. Am I being overly paranoid?