New Delhi's High Court has issued a ruling that said the section of India's Penal Code that criminalised homosexuality (S377) was a violation of fundamental rights and unconstitutional. The laws were drafted by the British 150 years ago. Law minister Veerappa Moily said that the government would have to “examine the verdict” in which the Court recommended the formal abolition of Section 377 as it is unconstitutional.

The joy on this man's face says it all:

40 years ago this week the Stonewall Riots gave birth to the gay liberation movement. The tremendous success of what has been accomplished by activists and allies all over the world truly can only be described as a revolution. I think it only fitting celebrate this anniversary by quoting the speech given by Michael Kirby, then a Justice of the High Court of Australia at the opening of the Gay Games in Sydney in 2002:

Under different stars, at the beginning of a new millennium, in an old land and a young nation, we join together in the hope and conviction that the future will be kinder and more just than the past.

At a time when there is so much fear and danger, anger and destruction, this event represents an alternative vision struggling for the soul of humanity. Acceptance. Diversity. Inclusiveness. Participation. Tolerance and joy. Ours is the world of love, questing to find the common links that bind all people. We are here because, whatever our sexuality, we believe that the days of exclusion are numbered. In our world, everyone can find their place, where their human rights and human dignity will be upheld.

This is a great night for Australia because we are a nation in the process of reinventing ourselves. We began our modern history by denying the existence of our indigenous peoples and their rights. We embraced White Australia. Women could play little part in public life: their place was in the kitchen. And as for gays, lesbians and other sexual minorities, they were an abomination. Lock them up. Throw away the key.

We have not corrected all these wrongs. But we are surely on the road to enlightenment. There will be no U-turns.

Little did my partner Johan and I think, thirty years ago, as we danced the night away at the Purple Onion, less than a mile from this place, that we would be at the opening of a Gay Games with the Queen's Representative and all of you to bear witness to such a social revolution. Never did we think we would be dancing together in a football stadium. And with the Governor. And that the Governor would be a woman! True, we rubbed shoulders on the dance floor with Knights of the Realm, such as Sir Robert Helpmann and with a future Premier, such as Don Dunstan. But if an angel had tapped us on our youthful shoulders and told us of tonight we would have said "Impossible". Well, nothing is impossible to the human spirit. Scientific truth always ultimately prevails. So here we are tonight, men and women, indigenous and newcomers, black and white, Australians and visitors, religious and atheist, young and not so young, straight and gay - together.

It is put best by Corey Czok, an Australian basketballer in these Games:
"It's good to be able to throw out the stereotypes - we're not all sissies, we don't all look the same and we're not all pretty!"

His last comment may be disputed. Real beauty lies in the fact that we are united not in the negatives of hate and exclusion, so common today, but in the positives of love and inclusion.

The changes over thirty years would not have happened if it had not been for people of courage who rejected the common ignorance about sexuality. Who taught that variations are a normal and universal aspect of the human species. That they are not going away. That they are no big deal. And that, between consenting adults, we all just have to get used to it and get on with life.

The people of courage certainly include Oscar Wilde. His suffering, his interpretation of it and the ordeal of many others have bought the changes for us. I would include Alfred Kinsey. In the midst of the McCarthyist era in the United States he, and those who followed him, dared to investigate the real facts about human sexual diversity. In Australia, I would also include, as heroes, politicians of every major party, most of them heterosexual. Over thirty years, they have dismantled many of the unequal laws. But the first of them was Don Dunstan. He proved, once again, the astonishing fact that good things sometimes occur when the dancing stops.

I would also add Rodney Croome and Nick Toonen. They took Australia to the United Nations to get rid of the last criminal laws against gay men in Tasmania. Now the decision in their case stands for the whole world. I would include Neal Blewett who led Australia's first battles against AIDS. Robyn Archer, Kerryn Phelps, Ian Roberts and many, many others.

But this is not just an Australian story. In every land a previously frightened and oppressed minority is awakening from a long sleep to assert its human dignity. We should honour those who looked into themselves and spoke the truth. Now they are legion. It is the truth that makes us free.

I think of Tom Waddell, the inspired founder of the Gay Games. His last words in this life were: "This should be interesting". Look around. What an under-statement. I think of Greg Louganis, twice Olympic gold medallist, who came out as gay and HIV positive and said that it was the Gay Games that emboldened him to tell it as it was. I think of Mark Bingham, a rowdy Rugby player. He would have been with us tonight. But he lost his life in one of the planes downed on 11 September 2001, struggling to save the lives of others. He was a real hero.

Je pense a Bertrand Delanoe, le maire ouvertement gay de Paris, poignarde a l'Hotel de Ville au course de la Nuit Blanche. Il a fait preuve d'un tres grand courage - et il est un homme exceptionnel. When the gay Mayor of Paris was stabbed by a homophobe he commanded the party at which it happened to "Dance Till Dawn". Do that in his honour tonight. And in honour of the Cairo 52; the Sister movement in Namibia; Al Fatiha - the organisation for Gay Moslems and many others struggling for their human rights.

And I think of all of you who come together on this magical night to affirm the fundamental unity of all human beings. To reject ignorance, hatred and error. And to embrace love, which is the ultimate foundation of all human rights.

Let the word go out from Sydney and the Gay Games of 2002 that the movement for equality is unstoppable. Its message will eventually reach the four corners of the world. These Games will be another catalyst to help make that happen. Be sure that, in the end, inclusion will replace exclusion. For the sake of the planet and of humanity it must be so.

Amusez-vous bien. Et par l'exemple de nos vies defendons les droits de l'humanite pour tous. Non seulement pour les gays. Pour tout le monde.
Enjoy yourselves. And by our lives let us be an example of respect for human rights. Not just for gays. For everyone.

After a bit of argy bargy New Hampshire has legalised same-sex marriage. Marriage certificates will be obtainable regardless of whether a couple lives in New Hampshire or not. The legislation distinguishes between civil and religious marriage, a religious marriage being a civil one with additional mumbo jumbo for added effect that doesn’t have any legal impact.

The Governor sought to have the legislation clarify that Priests/Pastors/Rabbis/Imams etc don’t have to marry people if they have a theological objection to doing so, which was basically the situation anyway, it’s not like an Imams marry Catholics as it is now. The other aspect of what the Governor demanded is that religious bodies don’t have to make property they might own available to host a same-sex wedding if they object to it. This might be more contentious if the property or the body that runs it receives state funding for its upkeep or renovation. Nevertheless it is another step forward.

It comes just U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton officially recognised June as Pride Month and pledged to "advance a comprehensive human rights agenda that includes the elimination of violence and discrimination against people based on sexual orientation or gender identity." Now attention will shift to New York where the Bill to legalise same-sex marriage is before the state Senate. One Senator has said he already has the votes to get the Bill passed, something that opponents of the Bill have said amounts to a mind game, but since when were mind games off limits in politics? Watch this space…

Bad news from California, Prop 8 stands but the 18,000 same-sex marriages entered into before the election remain valid. The ruling went 6-1. Demonstrations are already happening and it looks like this will be the launch of a movement to overturn the change at the next election. This time the campaign will focus on bringing people of faith as well as Blacks and Latinos. There’s also talk of a campaign to recall the six judges who voted for inequality (the Supreme Court is elected and can be recalled by the people). The momentum is with equality and hopefully they can build a strong campaign to undo this injustice.

Over the weekend something amazing happened in Singapore – there was gay rights rally! Singapore is an authoritarian effectively one-party state where gay sex is illegal (thanks to laws left over from colonial times). It has a history of clamping down on any moves to try to advocate for a progressive approach, so to see something like this happing in such a country is pretty special. For years gay life in Singapore was underground, there were a few discrete nights at discos, a few incredibly camp people on TV but that was pretty much it. The arrival of internet made finding other gay people much easier for Queer Singaporeans but it’s still quite a conservative place.

The event was organised by a group called Pink dot sg who themselves look pretty organised by the look of their website and the fact that they have ambassadors for their cause and it more or less coincided with the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) which was the day after.

Despite the rather bland reporting in the state media, this is quite an unprecedented event, Singapore had a sort of circuit party for a few years earlier in the decade but it was shut down because it went “against the moral values of a large majority of Singaporeans” according to the Police. It’s good to see such a big turnout for such a visible gay rights event and great to see the Police didn’t shut it down. Let’s hope it continues. Shiok one!

Maine's Governor signed the Bill into law not too long ago, with New Hampshire hopefully not far behind. They're coming thick and fast in the US at the moment.

The President of Burundi needs to whip up the masses to help him get re-elected and what better way to do it than by a good old fashioned bout of gay bashing with a mass rent-a-crowd rally thrown in for good measure. Commendably, the opposition controlled Senate stood up to this bigotry and tossed out the news laws that would have amended the country’s criminal law. However the lower house has the final say and the laws went through a few days ago as you can read about here.

Another one! The Vermont legislature has voted to overturn the Governor's veto on equal marriage. Great stuff!

More good news from the Hawkeye state, the mechanics of ballot initiatives there require the proposal to be passed by both houses of the Legislature before it can be put to the people. Currently both houses are controlled by the Democrats and they've signalled their support for the Court's ruling so it's not looking good for a ballot initiative in 2011, the Republicans would have to take both houses just to have a referendum on a constitutional amendment in 2013. It's always possible, but it seems unlikely that the Republicans will be back in business two years from now to win in 2013 and even if they were, equal marriage would have been bedded down for four years at that stage and people will have realised that the sun continues to rise and civilisation hasn't imploded.

It's been a while! I've been pretty busy and haven't had that much to write about but this week sees a major step forward in the fight for equal marriage, in one week both Sweden and Iowa have got same-sex marriage. Sweden would hardly be a shock but I must admit Iowa was a surprise - and no doubt disconcerting to reactionaries in the US, after all if the heartland states are falling...

No doubt there will be a fight to keep it, but a ballot initiative will be two years away by which time the change will be bedded down, plus activists will have learned a string of lessons as a result of Prop 8 in California, so here’s hoping.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens in Vermont as the Bill for equal marriage winds its way through their Legislature. Also keep an eye on New York, the Bill for equal marriage passed the lower house of the legislature before the election but was held up in the Senate by two hostile Republicans, both of whom lost their seats last November. For the first time in over 40 years the Democrats control both houses of the state Legislature in New York and the Governor has said he’s in favour of the Bill. This is New York after all. If Vermont and New York are won it will be a major setback for the forces of reaction, coming as it does on the heals of the tsunami that washed over them and swept Obama into office last year and of course the financial crisis.

It’s a pretty good time to be alive if you’re a lefty.