UNITED KINGDOM: Considered one of the most liberal societies in the world when it comes to laws regarding homosexuality, the UK has certainly come a long way from the Buggery Act, 1533, of Henry VIII, whereby the act was an offence punishable by hanging. Homosexuality among consenting adults was decriminalised in 1967, with conditions. Numerous amendments later, the age of consent was brought down to 16 in 2000. The Civil Partnership Act of 2005 further created a parallel legal structure to marriage, which endowed on homosexual couples all the rights and responsibilities of marriage, including the right to adopt children.

UNITED STATES: The laws are different at the state and federal level. Civil unions are permitted in Vermont, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Connecticut while same sex marriages are recognised in New York, New Mexico and Rhode Island. The Supreme Court ruling in the 2003 Lawrence vs Texas case was a landmark judgment in the context of gay rights, with the majority holding that intimate consensual sexual conduct was part of the liberty protected under the Fourteenth Amendment.

DENMARK: Homosexuality legalised since 1933, with the equal age of consent set at 15 years in 1979. In 1989, it became the first country to legalise same-sex unions, also giving couples the right to adoption. Besides, Denmark prohibits any law or behaviour that discriminates against people on the basis of their sexual orientation.

FRANCE: Considered tolerant in matters of private morality, incidents of homosexuals being burnt to death last occurred in France in 1750. Homosexuality is not a crime; the Civil Solidarity Pact enacted in 1999 affords legal protection and the rights of marriage to same-sex couples as also unmarried opposite-sex couples. Also prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation.

... contd.