Thursday, the Philippine Supreme Court overturned an earlier ruling prohibiting a gay advocacy group from participating in national elections this May, and recognized Ang Ladlad – Out of the Closet – as a legitimate political party. In a unanimous ruling, the fifteen member court dismissed decisions by the Elections Commission that denied accreditations to the gay rights group on the grounds that the supposed toleration of immorality is offensive to both Philippine Christians and Muslims. The court ruled that the party complied with all legal requirements, and that there is law against homosexuality. “The denial of Ang Ladlad’s registration on purely moral grounds amounts more to a statement of dislike and disapproval of homosexuals,” said the court, “rather than a tool to further any substantial public interest.”
Anastasia Beaumont-Bott, the founder of the British Conservative Party’s largest gay rights group has said that she will now vote Labour in the General Election after David Cameron failed to reprimand Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling said he contended Christian B&B owners have the right to deny gay couples from staying in their homes.
In India, gay advocacy groups are demanding an “impartial investigation” into the mysterious death of Aligarh Muslim University professor S.R. Siras, who was found dead at his home from an apparent suicide. The professor was suspended from his position with AMU after being charged with “gross misconduct” after a tape that had secretly recorded Siras and a rickshaw puller engaged in sex was released. The 64 year old chairman of the Modern Indian Languages department, who was scheduled to retire this September, has the suspension overturned by the Allahabad High Court this week, and was reinstated, after which Siras said “I am happy because I have been judged in a wrong way. I have already said that I am gay. I am the same man, with the same qualifications, with the same features and personality. Now I can go back to my beloved university.”
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