Why decriminalizing gay sex is not enough.

I saw this video recently that was shared on facebook by one of my friends. It has a 14 year old kid that is saying something with the help of some flashcards. I was so moved by watching the video I shared it immediately but I think thats just not enough. As the day wore on many of my friends came online and quite a few of them revealed how they felt when they were passing through the same phase as the kid was and how they were quite despondent as well. I am posting the video below:

This brings me to my main topic. The Delhi High Court has decriminialized gay sex in India but is that really enough when it comes to making the playing field even in our country? Its not about decriminalizing gay sex, it is about making discrimination a criminal act. The courts in India may have decriminalized the very act of making love between two men but thats about it. They have not done anything else. You can still beat the hell out of your son or daughter for being gay. You can still deny a gay couple a room on rent, you can even terminate a gay employee for just having a different sexual orientation but the best part is if you happen to be the government you can deny rights and services that are given without the blink of an eye to “normal” straight couples.

Who is the government to judge people on the type of their relationships? Why should they hold a straight marriage of one day in more esteem than a gay partnership of lets say six years? Do they charge gay people a different rate of tax? Are they exempt from VAT? The fundamental of a democracy is that you get represented if you pay taxes. Where do we see gay representation in this government? The government here goes out of its way to balance a ministry with just the right mix of caste, religion and god knows what else. I am not advocating that this is a right approach in the first place because people in government ought to be nominated because they have the skills. What I am saying however is that there should be no discrimination if some homosexual person does have the skills for the job. Perhaps in a nation of one billion there is not a single gay person up to the mark for being a minister in the Government of India.

I think it is time to expose this sham that there is equality of any sort in this country. People who have a different sexual orientation have absolutely no chance of being able to stand up to governmental bullying unless they demand their fair share. At each step of life the Government of India ensures that the concerns and rights of sexual minorities are simply ignored because they do not want to touch this issue, no not even with a 30 foot long barge pole. The excuses are numerous, opposition from “society”, religion and sometimes they even manage to invoke culture. However the government opposes so many things that are embedded in Indian culture and religions. Why do they protect interests of scheduled castes and tribes? In fact they have criminalized any discrimination against lower castes. They have provided for affirmative action and you know what I agree. I agree that no one should be discriminated against on the basis of how they were born and in which family they grew up. I also demand that no one should be discriminated against on who they choose to sleep with and in what kind of relationship they choose to spend their life.

The Supreme Court has been rambling about live in relationships. Lets just legalize those irrespective of gender and give everyone the same rights. Whether it be straight people who are living together without being married or people of the same gender. I mean the same rights in immigration, the same rights in estate laws and the same rights in being near your loved one when he or she breathes his last breath. It is the responsibility of the state to dispense equality before law but it is also a fundamental right of every citizen in the Indian constitution! Anything less than this would be cheating and thuggery. Just getting courts to drop an unconstitutional law is not enough, the government needs to show that their money is where their mouth is! Otherwise the next time your government decides to preach democracy in the world you might just end up having egg on your face.