Hong Kong anti-gay laws overturned

I love these kinds of stories because they let me know, despite what is happening in my own country, that parts of the world are coming around to the side of tolerance. Still, in some parts of the world, you can be put to death (such as Iran) just for being gay. I understand that it’s all about religion, but that’s so bizarre to me. The world is a dangerous place for many of us.

A 20-year-old gay man in Hong Kong won a legal challenge Wednesday of laws against homosexuality -- including one that calls for a life sentence for sodomy when at least one man is younger than 21.

As he left the High Court, William Roy Leung told reporters that his legal victory means that “I can finally have a loving relationship without being scared” of being “thrown into jail for life imprisonment.”

In his ruling, High Court Judge Michael Hartmann said the anti-gay laws “discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation” and “are demeaning of gay men who are, through the legislation, stereotyped as deviant.”

The judge also said the laws are a “grave and arbitrary interference with the right of gay men to self-autonomy in the most intimate aspects of their private lives.” (source)