Political Discussions
Europe, same-sex showdown moves to UN
Posted by timethief • 12/09/08 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: civil unions, europena union, human rights, same sex marriage, United Nations, universal declaration of human rights, vatican
In Europe, same-sex showdown moves to UN
The Vatican fears the EU effort might open the door to gay marriage. The US is staying silent.
The European Union (EU) wants this week's 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to also mark the expansion of the document to condemn the criminalization of same-sex relations.
A delegation from the EU hopes to convince the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday to formally condemn treating homosexuals as criminals. The proposed declaration is intended to pressure the 80 countries that still consider same-sex relations a crime, including a handful, such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Bangladesh, where the punishment is death.
Although all 27 member states of the EU support the proposal, resistance has come from the Vatican, which has criticized the declaration as a Trojan horse intended to eventually open the door to gay marriage. Most European countries do not recognize gay marriage, including the document's main sponsor, France. Only Spain and the Netherlands allow same-sex marriage, although 13 member states recognize some form of civil unions.
... The introduction of the decriminalization declaration is planned for Wednesday, the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a founding document of the UN. Considered the first universal statement on the basic principles of inalienable human rights, the declaration begins "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights."
Read the full article -> www.csmonitor.com/2008/1210/p07s01-wogn.html
Link to the Declaration -> www.certidiritti.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=232:in-esc...
Discussion question: I support this declaration: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights", do you?
User Comments
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If in fact the resolution did nothing more than "formally condemn treating homosexuals as criminals", I'm sure that there would be few people on earth (including those heading up the Catholic church) who would oppose it. I would suggest reading the actual resolution before forming any opinions. It may not change your view, but it's wise to know what it is that you're supporting.-
Yes, I've read it and I included the link to it above.
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I assumed you'd read it--I was speaking more generally. I am glad, though, that you chose to go back and add a link to the declaration itself after I pointed out that it said much more than your original post indicated.
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I appreciated your reminder. I also chopped out some of the excerpts I had in the OP figuring that it could be read at the link. It's always hard to decide how much to put into an OP. I think I tend to lean too much towards providing too much.
The Vatican's rejection of the declaration is plainly stated. Its main concern is stopping gay marriage. -
With all the sexual abuse in the church which the Church is incapable of dealing with i consider anything they say regarding peoples sexual habits as dribble
And please not, that is not meant to be disrespectful to the beautiful Catholics that have great intentions, love of God, good values but are uninformed of what has happened behind closed doors.
When you lock people up in buildings together as celibates, it leads to serious emotional and mental unbalance. How could these people possibly be skilled enough to make intelligent decisions relating to peoples sexuality. -
The article that I posted the link for in the OP also contains the link to the declaration.
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The Vatican is opposed saving the lives of homosexuals? What happened to being "pro-life"?-
Nope. This is exactly why it's important to read the whole declaration.
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Just a little comment, Belgium also has gay marriage. This proposal has wide support from nations in Europe and Latin America. The silence of the USA has to do with the difficulties at home, see the California case.-
Yup.
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Too bad the UN is worthless and completely ineffective. Even if it does "formally condemn" countries that describe homosexuality as a crime, I do not really think any of those countries will do anything about it. A "formal condemnation" from the UN means absolutely nothing, its like saying "tsk tsk, you should not do that". If the UN will not stop countries like Iran from gaining nuclear weapons, then what makes you think they care about gays? The UN has made a mockery of human rights in the past and will continue to do so.-
And, of course, the UN's power is dramatically undermined when major players like...oh...THE UNITED STATES start telling them to shut up and get out of the way or we might "accidentally" drop a bomb on them.
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madameX- That is not exactly what I am referring too. The UNHRC for example is a joke. It needed to be rebuilt because of its blatant bias in 2006. When it opened up for business again, they issued about 7 or 8 "condemnation" statements against Israel, without once mentioning Darfur. Even the old human rights UN group had virtually nothing to say about Rwanda. Very few Western nations actually sit on the UNHRC. Most member countries come from Africa and Asia that have atrocious human rights records like Bangladesh, China, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia which have no reason to be on such a council. The UNHRC has even been criticized by Kofi Annan (certainly no friend to the US or Israel) by saying that the commission has unevenly focused on Israel while it systematically ignores Darfur. This is how the UN has made a mockery of human rights.
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Even though (SOME)militant gays want to blame the African American community for all of the problems that they feel they are encountering, in the grander scheme of things it is the U.S. government, the Pope, and the larger white Christian conservatives that are hindering their progress.
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Now, why...where...how did you manage to make this about racism again?
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Are you obsessed with racism and gays? Nobody cares that you're black or gay. You're nothing more than a human being, and neither am I. Get over yourself.
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Phoenix1962- Really now... the race card again??? Get over yourself.
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Here we go again - broken record - black and gay - closeted and playing the race card. Sheesh!
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I am just pointing out facts that relate to the issue in the topic. So, stop Mcaining me!
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voodooKobra said, "Are you obsessed with racism and gays? Nobody cares that you're black or gay. You're nothing more than a human being, and neither am I. Get over yourself."
I am not talking about you and your closeted homosexuality. -
timethief said, "Here we go again - broken record - black and gay - closeted and playing the race card. Sheesh!"
Are you out of the closet timetheif? How many threads have you started about the gay card?
BLACK PRIDE!-
Um, sweetheart - the original topic has absolutely NOTHING to do with race - it has to do with the UN, and the decriminalization of sexual orientation.
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Anok said, "Um, sweetheart - the original topic has absolutely NOTHING to do with race - it has to do with the UN, and the decriminalization of sexual orientation."
Go back and read my entire comment and you will see that it is related to the topic. You and some others like to pick at a comment without reading it in its entirety.-
Yeah, it's about race, with an afterthought about the church. You brought race into another conversation again.
We're getting a little tired of it.
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Phoenix1962
Even though (SOME)militant gays want to blame the African American community for all of the problems that they feel they are encountering, in the grander scheme of things it is the U.S. government, the Pope, and the larger white Christian conservatives that are hindering their progress.
The U.S. Government has chosen to stay silent on the issue and the Pope has never been in favor of homosexuality. -
Anok, "Yeah, it's about race, with an afterthought about the church. You brought race into another conversation again. We're getting a little tired of it."
Who died and left you my boss? I am tired of hearing about the GAY Card but does that stop timethief from having a multitude of threads dedicated to the subject? Does it stop you and your merry group of followers from joining in on how bad the gay community has it? Furthermore, do you have a problem with the Black race?
Black Pride! -
ROTFLMAO!
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[sarcasm] Thanks so much for all the meaningful and on topic contributions you make. Sharing new information that is relevant to the topics posted is always of benefit to the community. If there hadn't been value to them then we might have jumped to the conclusion that you were just an attention seeker.
Oh wait! There's a record that you have established here at BC that we can all view. So let's all just take a little peek and see how much you have contributed and what the nature and value of those contributions has been www.blogcatalog.com/discuss/search/user/Phoenix1962
[/sarcasm]
references:
thistimethisspace.com/2008/11/16/no-tolerance-for-trolls/ communitiesonline.homestead.com/dealingwithtrolls.html
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Let us all agree to play nice. Being negative only causes more negativity.
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The only thing the UN should be dealing with regarding the Catholic Church is exposure of pedophiles
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what?
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Spam.
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