Change.org nixes anti-gay petition to India leaders

Colin Stewart is a 45-year journalism veteran living in Southern…

Image of anti-gay petition to Indian government on Change.org.

In response to repeated complaints, the online petition site Change.org apparently has agreed to take down a hate-filled anti-gay petition to the Indian government.

The site, which in the past has hosted many progressive campaigns, states that that it does not allow petitions that contain “hate speech (which includes, but is not limited to, speech which attacks or demeans a group based on … sexual orientation/gender identity).”

But it hosted the petition entitled “Stop the assault on Indian culture in the name of love. PROTECT the family system! Do not amend 377” and turned back many protests that the petition was an attack on LGBT people. The petition, which had attracted more than 2,500 signatures, urged the Indian government not to change Section 377, the colonial-era law against homosexual activity that was recently reinstated by a Supreme Court decision.

Today, however, that petition vanished from the Change.org site.

The following excerpts from the currently inaccessible petition demonstrate its routinely homophobic rhetoric, which claimed that LGBT people are a danger to society, that they are the cause of sexually transmitted diseases, and are similar to pedophiles:

2024 global forecast for LGBTQ+ rights

The “homosexual lifestyle” has caused “grave dangers … to nations that have welcomed it. Most of these countries are still reeling from its terrible onslaught both socially and economically.”
“We are not here to condemn homosexuals, nor are we calling ‘love a crime’ as most homosexual activists put it, but every Indian citizen and LGBT community needs to realize the danger and risks involved with the homosexual lifestyle and the monumental mistake made by western & european countries by legitimizing homosexuality.”
“Homosexuality is an economic burden. $20 billion dollars is being spent in the U.S. alone on HIV/AIDS, STDs funding per year.”
“Homosexual behaviour reduces lifespan by 24 years.”
“Homosexuality has imposed its acceptance on all society posing a threat to the heterosexual community.”
“A very disturbing and shocking piece of news in this regard is that using the same tactics used by “gay” rights activists, pedophiles have begun to seek similar status arguing their desire for children is a sexual orientation no different than heterosexual or homosexuals. In fact, American psychiatrists are now beginning to advocate redefining pedophilia in the same way homosexuality was redefined several years ago !!!”

Starting today, the petition’s name still appeared in a search for its submitter, “Savitha Rajesh,” but the hyperlink to the actual petition no longer worked.

A search for Change.org petitions related to homosexuality shows that most of the petitions are LGBT-friendly, but several anti-homosexuality petitions remain.