Gay pride

There are 66 countries in the world where it is illegal to be gay. The penalties range from death penalty, passing through life in prison, some time in prison, forced labor, to fines. As a gay man, I have gay pride. Deciding whether to go to any of these countries is very easy. I won’t be going.

Places not even worth mentioning

I won’t be singling out any of those countries. Honestly, they don’t deserve the free publicity. If you are interested though, you can look them up in the link I put above. At least, I hope this will help you avoid any of them. Alternatively, you can look them up at this link.

At what side is your country in?

The history of LGBTQ rights is still being written. There’s progress, but there’s also regress. A lot of places are still choosing at what side they will be at. I have watched with some apprehension as many of them swing back and forth. In the end, I have good intentions, I want them to be taking the right decision. It’s sad to see the reversals on rights that have been conquered so far. I just hope, at the end, these places will stay on the right side of history.

Gay pride

Gays are, in most respects, people like any other. We are funny, kind, party people. We are also hard-working, tax payers, productive members of the society. Every lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer person is someone’s son, daughter, friend, neighbor, colleague. Above all, we are proud. We have learned, with great difficulty, our own value. We know our contributions to society, they are not few, and we will not back out. Notably, we know where we are not welcome. And where we are not welcome, we don’t go.

My heart goes out to LGBTQ people that live in these places. My prayer is that they can find asylum in more tolerant countries that will welcome and protect them.