Women's eNews (https://womensenews.org/author/barbara-raab/)
Persecution based on sexual orientation is grounds for U.S. political asylum, but most gay people don’t know it. And a new human rights report documents abuse and torture of gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people worldwide.
Lesbians are more likely to be overweight and to smoke and drink alcohol than U.S. women generally–risk factors for cancer, cardiovascular and other diseases. They are also more likely to avoid regular checkups in an indifferent health care system.
They claim treatment of kids is hypocritical. We say all kids need care, protection and education, but kids who commit crimes are prosecuted as adults, and kids who become parents are said to be responsible for most of the nation’s social problems.
The Boy Scouts vow to continue to exclude homosexuals, a position upheld by the Supreme Court, however the Girl Scouts and others organizations have anti-discrimination policies while barring sexual interactions between leaders and children.
During Gay and Lesbian Pride events this week, many are taking stock of their lives. Some now 60 and above, look back in anger, while others are delighted with the new freedoms that age brings them.
The reports coauthors, Scott Long, policy director for the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and consultant Leslie Minot, conclude that there is an agonizing divide between the promise of equality, enshrined in internationally accepted protections, and the reality of discrimination.