Good news ahead of IDAHO

Great news coming out of the United States last night. The Supreme Court in California has overturned a ban on gay marriage, opening the way to similar moves across the country.

Amnesty International has a long running campaign for lesbian and gay rights, and equal treatment in relationships has been a key pillar of that campaign. So fingers crossed for the future.

The timing could hardly be any more apt as tomorrow is the International Day Against Homophobia. To mark that occasion, we at Amnesty sent out a press release this morning and will be releasing a hard-hitting briefing document, outlining the problems faced by the lesbian and gay community in Eastern Europe, tomorrow.

The briefing is all pretty nasty stuff: anti-gay groups on the rise, politicians increasing using homophobic language and Pride marches being targeted by petrol bombs.

And this is where you’ve got to love the web for getting the information out there.The leading gay website Bilerico have already run a comment piece from Kate Allen, Amnesty’s UK director. Meanwhile, the UK Gay News website – quick off the mark as ever – has already put the press release up.

With that kind of response who knows we might even reach some of the leaders in Eastern Europe and get them to take their human rights responsibilities seriously and protect gay communities.