Indian Court Decriminalizes Consensual Gay Sex

Following up on a story I wrote about Monday, the Delhi High Court has ruled to decriminalize consensual gay sex, noting that the "crime is a violation of fundamental rights protected by India's constitution." The ruling applies only to the capitol city of New Delhi, but it's a start. Homomentum, as they say.

"I'm so excited, and I haven't been able to process the news yet," Anjali Gopalan, the executive director of the Naz Foundation Trust, a sexual health organization, told reporters. "We've finally entered the 21st century."

"This legal remnant of British colonialism has been used to deprive people of their basic rights for too long," Scott Long, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Rights Program at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. "This long-awaited decision testifies to the reach of democracy and rights in India."

Details here.

[H/T to Ginmar.]