Homosexuality laws of the world

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World laws on homosexuality

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Same-sex unions in North America.

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Same-sex unions in Europe.

The countries of the world have a wide variety of laws relating to homosexuality - everything from full same-sex marriage to the death penalty as punishment for homosexual acts. The first recorded law against homosexuality dates to 550 BC during the Babylonian captivity of the Jewish people, it is recorded in Leviticus (though some scholars date Leviticus much older), and it requires the death penalty for homosexuality between men. It is largely seen as a distinction between Judaism and Paganism on par with worshiping "false gods". At the time homosexuality was incorporated into many Pagan religions. This pattern was continued throughout history with punitive laws arising from Judaism and its descendants: Islam and Christianity. With the advent of colonialism this attitude spread along with political control from the imperial powers of the Abrahamic religions. In post-colonial times some non-Abrahamic religions have maintained their adoptive views of homosexuality. Usually an Abrahamic religion is the primary factor when accounting for a law against homosexuality and the major supporter.

This is a list of laws around the world concerning homosexuality. The list is arranged alphabetically by region. It should be noted that this list should not be assumed to represent a standard for measuring a nation's views, per se. Many nations which retained negative laws for a lengthy period of time, or even retain them today may in practice be societies that are not oppressive of homosexuality, with such laws simply being unenforced anachronisms. Similarly, a country which lacks formal laws against it may possess a culture which is openly hostile and may chose to persecute individuals by other means.

For greater depth in coverage see these related articles.

Contents

1 Homosexuality laws

1.1 Africa
1.2 Asia
1.3 Caribbean
1.4 Europe
1.5 Middle East
1.6 North America
1.7 Oceania
1.8 South America

2 See also

3 External links

Homosexuality laws

Africa

Country	Laws against homosexuality	Max. Penalty	Min. Penalty	Same-sex Unions	Same-sex Marriage	Laws against discrimination	Comments
Algeria	Yes	3 years	Fine	No	No	No
Angola	Yes	Unknown	Unknown	No	No	No
Benin	Yes	Unknown	Unknown	No	No	No
Botswana	Men: Yes, Women: No	5 years	Fine	No	No	No
Burkina Faso	No	-	-	No	No	No
Burundi	No	-	-	No	No	No	Punishable as "immoral act"
Cameroon	Yes	5 years	Fine	No	No	No
Cape Verde	Yes	Fine	Fine	No	No	No
Central African Republic	No	-	-	No	No	No
Chad	No	-	-	No	No	No
Comoros	No	-	-	No	No	No
Congo	No	-	-	No	No	No
Djibouti	Yes	Unknown	Unknown	No	No	No
Egypt	No	-	-	No	No	No	Although not illegal, commonly oppressed with vague morality laws.
Equatorial Guinea	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	No	No	No
Eritrea	Yes	3 years	10 days	No	No	No
Ethiopia	Yes	3 years	10 days	No	No	No
Gabon	No	-	-	No	No	No
Gambia	Yes	14 years	Fine	No	No	No
Ghana	No	-	-	No	No	No	Punishable only if "in public or with minor"
Guinea	Yes	3 years	6 months	No	No	No
Guinea Bissau	No	-	-	No	No	No
Ivory Coast	No	-	-	No	No	No
Kenya	Men: Yes, Women: No	5 years	Fine	No	No	No
Lesotho	No	-	-	No	No	No
Liberia	Yes	Fine	Fine	No	No	No
Libya	Yes	5 years	Fine	No	No	No
Madagascar	No	-	-	No	No	No
Malawi	Yes	Unknown	Unknown	No	No	No
Mali	No	-	-	No	No	No
Mauritania	Yes	Death	Death	No	No	No
Mauritius	Yes	5 years	Fine	No	No	No
Morocco	Yes	3 years	6 months	No	No	No
Mozambique	Yes	3 years	Fine	No	No	No
Namibia	Men: Yes, Women: No	Unknown	Unknown	No	No	Yes	AD in Labour Code since 1992
Niger	No	-	-	No	No	No
Nigeria	Men: Yes, Women: No	14 years	Fine	No	No	No	Areas under Sharia have instituted death for men and women.
Rwanda	No	-	-	No	No	No
S�o Tom� and Pr�ncipe	No	-	-	No	No	No
Senegal	Yes	5 years	1 month	No	No	No
Seychelles	Yes	Unknown	Unknown	No	No	No
Sierra Leone	Yes	Unknown	Unknown	No	No	Yes?	The Anti-Corruption Commission in a press release issued stated that in a bid to attract competent and qualified staff, they operate a transparent recruitment policy, which even forbids discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Somalia	Yes	3 years	3 months	No	No	No	Areas under Sharia have instituted death for men and women.
South Africa	No	-	-	No	No	Yes	Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage, expected soon.
Sudan	Yes	Death	Death	No	No	No
Swaziland	Yes	Prison	Fine	No	No	No
Tanzania	Yes	25 years	7 years	No	No	No	Max. penalty applies to men and min. penalty to women.
Togo	Yes	3 years	Fine	No	No	No
Tunisia	Yes	3 years	Fine	No	No	No
Uganda	Men: Yes, Women: No	Life (20 years)	Fine	No	No	No
Zambia	Men: Yes, Women: No	14 years	Fine	No	No	No
Zimbabwe	Men: Yes, Women: No	3 years	Fine	No	No	No

Asia

Country	Laws against homosexuality	Max. Penalty	Min. Penalty	Same-sex Unions	Same-sex Marriage	Laws against discrimination	Comments
Afghanistan	Yes	15 years	5 years	No	No	No	Homosexuality is still a crime, but the death penalty (imposed under the Taliban) is no longer used.
Bangladesh	Yes	10 years	Fine	No	No	No
Bhutan	No	-	-	No	No	No
Cambodia	No	-	-	No	No	No	Former king Norodom Sihanouk has called for same-sex marriage.
China	No	-	-	No	No	No	Marriage laws under-review. AD under consideration in Hong Kong
India	Yes	10 years	Fine	No	No	No
Indonesia	No	-	-	No	No	No	In 2003 a proposal to criminalize homosexuality failed.
Japan	No	-	-	No	No	Yes	AD in Human Rights Act since 2001
Chechnya	Yes	Death	Death	No	No	No
Kazhakstan	No	-	-	No	No	No
Kyrgyzstan	No	-	-	No	No	No
Laos	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	No	No	No	Last punishment in 1992
Malaysia	Yes	20 years	Fine	No	No	No	Former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who was himself jailed for homosexuality, has called for their repeal. The daughter of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Marina Mahathir, has called for an end to discrimination based on sexual orientation.[1] However, her father the Prime Minister has warned gay ministers in foreign countries not to visit his nation.[2]
Mongolia	No	-	-	No	No	No
Myanmar	Yes	10 years	Fine	No	No	No
Nepal	No	-	-	No	No	No
North Korea	No	-	-	No	No	No	No public discussion or reference to homosexuality is allowed. Seen as a capitalist disease or vice.
Pakistan	Men: Yes, Women: No	2 years	Fine	No	No	No
Philippines	No	-	-	No	No	Considered	Communist Party facilitates same-sex marriage.
Singapore	Yes	Fine	2 years	No	No	No	Law is rarely enforced, usually when it suspects risk of HIV infections during events such as sex parties. [3] Government officials have made calls to embrace diversity. Former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong stated that open homosexuals can be employed in the civil workforce
South Korea	No	-	-	No	No	Yes	Article 31 of the National Human Rights Committee Law states that "no individual is to be discriminated against on the basis of his or her sexual orientation", however, the government continues to discriminate against sexual minorities.
Sri Lanka	Yes	2 years	Fine	No	No	No
Taiwan	No	-	-	No	No	No	Pending law allows same-sex marriage.
Tajikistan	No	-	-	No	No	No
Thailand	No	-	-	No	No	No
Turkmenistan	Men: Yes, Women: No	2 years	Fine	No	No	No
Uzbekistan	Men: Yes, Women: No	3 years	Fine	No	No	No	Only applies to anal sex.
Vietnam	No	-	-	No	Banned since 1998	No	reports have suggested tha the law banning gay marriage may extend to a prohibition on same-sex couples living together or having any sort of public commitment celebration.

Caribbean

Country	Laws against homosexuality	Max. Penalty	Min. Penalty	Same-sex Unions	Same-sex Marriage	Laws against discrimination	Comments
Antigua and Barbuda	No	-	-	No	No	?
Netherlands Antilles	No	-	-	Yes	Yes	Yes
Aruba	No	-	-	No	No	Yes
Bahamas	No	-	-	No	No	No
Barbados	Yes	Unknown	Unknown	No	No	No	Laws currently under-review.
Bermuda	No	-	-	No	No	consider
Cayman Islands	No	-	-	No	No	Yes
Cuba	No	-	-	No	No	No	In the 1960s - 1970s gays were sent to concentration camps. Cubans infected with AIDS were quarntined until 1993. In theory private acts of homosexuality between consenting adults are not a crime. However, the 'public manifestation' law against homosexuality is used against transgender people, effeminate men or any public displays of same-sex affection.
Dominican Republic	No	-	-	No	No	No
Grenada	Men: Yes Women: No	Unknown	Unknown	No	No	No
Guadeloupe	No	-	-	No	No	Yes
Haiti	No	-	-	No	No	No
Jamaica	Men: Yes Women: No	10 years	10 years	No	No	No
Martinique	No	-	-	No	No	Yes
Saint Kitts and Nevis	No	-	-	No	No	No
Saint Lucia	Men: Yes Women: No	25 years	Fine	No	No	No
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	No	No	No
Trinidad and Tobago	Men: Yes Women: No	10 years	Fine	No	No	No
Turks and Caicos Islands	No	-	-	No	No	No

Europe

Country	Laws against homosexuality	Max. Penalty	Min. Penalty	Same-sex Unions	Same-sex Marriage	Laws against discrimination	Comments
Albania	No	-	-	No	No	No
Andorra	No	-	-	Yes	No	?
Armenia	No	-	-	No	No	No
Austria	No	-	-	Yes	No	Yes
Azerbaijan	No	-	-	No	No	No
Belgium	No	-	-	Yes	Yes	Yes
Belarus	No	-	-	No	No	No
Bosnia-Herzegovina	No	-	-	No	No	Yes	AD in Gender Equality Act since 2003
Bulgaria	No	-	-	No	No	Yes
Croatia	No	-	-	Yes	No	Yes
Cyprus	No	-	-	No	No	Yes
Czech Republic	No	-	-	No	No	Yes
Denmark	No	-	-	Yes	No	Yes
Estonia	No	-	-	No	No	Yes
Faroe Islands	No	-	-	No	No	?
Finland	No	-	-	Yes	No	Yes
France	No	-	-	Yes	No	Yes
Georgia	No	-	-	No	No	Yes
Germany	No	-	-	Yes	No	Yes
Greece	No	-	-	No	No	Yes
Hungary	No	-	-	Yes	No	Yes
Iceland	No	-	-	Yes	No	Yes
Ireland	No	-	-	No	No	Yes
Italy	No	-	-	Yes	No	Yes	Provisions exist in Tuscany, Umbria and Emilia Romagna.
Latvia	No	-	-	No	No	Yes	AD in Labour Code since 2001
Liechtenstein	No	-	-	Yes	No	Yes
Lithuania	No	-	-	No	No	Yes
Luxembourg	No	-	-	Yes	No	Yes
Macedonia	No	-	-	No	No	No
Malta	No	-	-	No	No	Yes
Moldova	No	-	-	No	No	consider
Monaco	No	-	-	Yes	No	Yes
Montenegro	No	-	-	No	No	No
Netherlands	No	-	-	Yes	Yes	Yes
Norway	No	-	-	Yes	No	Yes
Poland	No	-	-	No	No	Yes
Portugal	No	-	-	Yes	No	Yes
Romania	No	-	-	No	No	Yes
Russia	No Failed attempts to reintroduce a ban in 2004	-	-	No	No	No
San Marino	No	-	-	No	No	No
Serbia	No	-	-	No	No	Yes*	AD in Kosovo since 2001
Slovakia	No	-	-	No	No	Yes
Slovenia	No	-	-	Yes	No	Yes
Spain	No	-	-	Yes	Yes	Yes
Sweden	No	-	-	Yes	No	Yes
Switzerland	No	-	-	Yes	No	Yes
Turkey	No	-	-	No	No	No
Ukraine	No	-	-	No	No	No
United Kingdom	No	-	-	Yes	No	Yes
Vatican City	No	-	-	No	No	No	Although homosexuality is technically legal, as a theocracy of the Roman Catholic Church, which teaches against homosexuality, the subject is very taboo.

Middle East

Country	Laws against homosexuality	Max. Penalty	Min. Penalty	Same-sex Unions	Same-sex Marriage	Laws against discrimination	Comments
Bahrain	Men: Yes Women: No	10 years	Fine	No	No	No
Iran	Yes	Death	Death	No	No	No	Sex change operations have been given official government support as means to cure a gender identity disease.
Iraq	-	No	No	No	No	No	Criminal code amended to include death penalty for homosexuality in 2001. The U.S. occupation technically repealed the law, but news reports suggest it is being treated as a crime.[4]
Israel	No	-	-	No	No	Yes	fairly strong support for giving some type of legal reconition to same-sex couples. Only Middle Eastern nation to voluntary support gay rights legislation.
Jordan	No	-	-	No	No	No	While not a crime, reports have shown that gays can be victims of "honor killings."
Kuwait	Yes	7 years	Fine	No	No	No
Lebanon	Yes	1 year	Fine	No	No	No
Oman	Yes	3 years	Fine	No	No	No
Palestine	No	-	-	No	No	No	Gay Palestinians often attempt to flee to Israel as they are targeted for death in Palestine.
Qatar	Yes	5 years	Fine	No	No	No
Saudi Arabia	Yes	Death	Death	No	No	No	Jail time, fines or whipping may be used in lieu of the death penalty.
Syria	Yes	1 year	Fine	No	No	No
United Arab Emirates	Yes	Death	Death	No	No	No
Yemen	Yes	Death	Death	No	No	No

North America

Country	Laws against homosexuality	Max. Penalty	Min. Penalty	Same-sex Unions	Same-sex Marriage	Laws against discrimination	Comments
Belize	No	-	-	No	No	No
Canada	No	-	-	Yes	Yes	Yes	Recognized in some provinces only. Nationwide same-sex marriage bill likely to pass.
Costa Rica	No	-	-	No	No	Yes
El Salvador	No	-	-	No	No	No
Greenland	No	-	-	Yes	No	?
Guatemala	No	-	-	No	No	Yes	AD in Youth and Childhood Act since 1997
Honduras	No	-	-	No	No	No
Mexico	No	-	-	No	No	Yes
Nicaragua	Yes	3 years	Fine	No	No	No
Panama	No	-	-	No	No	No
United States	No See Lawrence v. Texas	-	-	Yes	Yes	Yes. Some states cover sexual orientation and gender identity. Some states only cover sexual orientation and some states do not cover either. See National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Resource Library [5]	Vermont and Connecticut: civil unions. California, New Jersey, Maryland, Maine and the District of Colombia: domestic partnerships. Hawaii: reciprocal benefits. Massachusetts: same-sex marriage.

Oceania

Country	Laws against homosexuality	Max. Penalty	Min. Penalty	Same-sex Unions	Same-sex Marriage	Laws against discrimination	Comments
Australia	No	-	-	Yes	No	Yes	AD in all Territories. Domestic partnerships in all but two.
Brunei	Yes	10 years	Fine	No	No	No
Cook Islands	Men: Yes Women:No	14 years	Fine	No	No	No
Fiji	Men: Yes Women:No	14 years	Fine	No	No	Yes	Laws currently under-review in 2005. AD in Constitution since 1997.
Guam	No	-	-	No	No	No
Kiribati	Men: Yes Women:No	14 years	Fine	No	No	No
Macao	No	-	-	No	No	No
Maldives	Men: Yes Women:No	10 years	Fine	No	No	No
Marshall Islands	Men: Yes Women:No	10 years	Fine	No	No	No
Micronesia	No	-	-	No	No	No
Nauru	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	No	No	No
New Caledonia	No	-	-	No	No	No
New Zealand	No	-	-	Yes	No	Yes
Niue	Men: Yes Women:No	10 years	Fine	No	No	No
Papua New Guinea	Men: Yes Women:No	14 years	Fine	No	No	No
Samoa	Yes	7 years	Fine	No	No	No
Solomon Islands	Yes	14 years	Fine	No	No	No
Tahiti	No	-	-	No	No	No
Tokelau	Men: Yes Women:No	10 years	Fine	No	No	No
Tonga	Men: Yes Women:No	10 years	Fine	No	No	No
Tuvalu	Men: Yes Women:No	14 years	Fine	No	No	No
Vanuatu	No	-	-	No	No	No

South America

Country	Laws against homosexuality	Max. Penalty	Min. Penalty	Same-sex Unions	Same-sex Marriage	Laws against discrimination	Comments
Argentina	No	-	-	Yes	No	Yes	Civil unions exist in Buenos Aires and Rio Negro Province.
Bolivia	No	-	-	No	No	No
Brazil	No	-	-	Yes	No	Yes	Civil unions exist in Rio Grande do Sul.
Chile	No	-	-	No	No	No
Colombia	No	-	-	No	No	No
Ecuador	No	-	-	No	No	Yes
Falkland Islands	No	-	-	Yes	No	No
French Guyana	No	-	-	Yes	No	Yes
Guyana	Men: Yes Women:No	Life	Life	No	No	consider
Paraguay	No	-	-	No	No	No
Peru	No	-	-	No	No	consider
Surinam	No	-	-	No	No	No
Uruguay	No	-	-	No	No	Yes
Venezuela	No	-	-	No	No	Yes