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What does the future hold for gay men, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people?
Gay Activist continues to blog news stories and cases highlighting the problems that gay men, lesbians and transgender people throughout the world are having in asserting their rights, just staying together as couples, or achieving equality of opportunity. There are also increasing attempts by our opponents to turn the tide back and reoppress us to a greater or lesser degree.
Far from finished, the job has, in fact, only just begun:
- we must make sure laws and government bodies really do represent us and work for us.
- we need to re-energise our campaigning and organisations, and improve their sustainability and relevance.
- we need to ensure that all European citizens who are gay, lesbian and transgender can access and enjoy their civil rights, especially when moving between European states with their partners and family.
- Couples who have got married or registered a civil partnership have the right to expect their legal marriage to be recognised wherever they go.
- we must ensure that all gay and lesbian workers and consumers are covered by rights.
- we must help our European and Commonwealth colleagues achieve their rights and work for true equality wherever they live in Europe or Commonwealth countries.
- we must help our colleagues in Asia, the Middle East and Africa achieve their right to live and to be gay.
- we must educate our friends as to how we won our rights, how easily they can be taken away, and make sure they value them.
- we must ensure resources are provided where needed to make our rights a reality.
- we must use our rights and enjoy them in a responsible, positive and helpful way which does not infringe on the rights of other communities.
- we must fight prejudice and homophobia and keep explaining why these rights are necessary and appropriate.
- we must counter anti-gay propaganda and the right-wing to ensure that our rights are lasting rights.
- we must counter the propaganda of the ex-gay organisations and defeat their crusades to “convert” people.
- we must ensure we as individual people have all the tools and training we need, and all the available information at our fingertips, to make our campaigning effective.
- we must do what we can to educate those who are not gay but who represent us.
You have to continually be alert and reaffirm your case to retain your hard won rights. From now on, its up to all of us.
Text updated 18 May 2012
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