Democrats vs. GOP on 76 countries’ anti-gay laws

Colin Stewart is a 45-year journalism veteran. He is the…

Hillary Clinton, U.S. secretary of state — “Some have suggested that gay rights and human rights are separate and distinct; but, in fact, they are one and the same,” Hillary Clinton told the United Nations in December 2011.

It’s now clear just how different the platform of the Democratic Party is from the GOP platform on the issue of whether the United States should urge 76 countries to repeal their anti-homosexuality laws.

The Republican Party calls for an end to the Obama administration’s effort to persuade those countries to stop defining gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex people as criminals.

The GOP platform, adopted last week, describes the administration’s international pro-LGBTI campaign as an attempt to impose “the homosexual rights agenda.”

In contrast, the Democratic Party platform endorses the administration’s effort, of course. It echoes the words of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said last December that “gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights.”

The Democratic platform, adopted at this week’s party convention, states approvingly:

Recognizing that gay rights are human rights, the President and his administration have vowed to actively combat efforts by other nations that criminalize homosexual conduct or ignore abuse.
See Also

7 steps the U.S. took to counter Uganda’s cruel Anti-Homosexuality Law

Under the Obama administration, American diplomats must raise the issue wherever harassment or abuse arises, and they are required to record it in the State Department’s annual report on human rights.

And the State Department is funding a program that finances gay rights organizations to combat discrimination, violence, and other abuses.