And one step back

In 1860 the British rulers of India wrote a law, known as Section 377, banning sodomy. Back in 2009 the Delhi High Court overturned the law, giving sexual minorities freedom from arrest and imprisonment for up to ten years.

In a decision handed down yesterday India's Supreme Court shocked the local gay community and many people around the world when it reinstated Section 377 and then said only Parliament can overturn it. Many say this ruling contradicts India's constitution. The Times of India lists the reasons why this ruling was a shock. One reason is that the Supreme Court has put the private lives of citizens into the hands of Members of Parliament.

Gay citizens may not be imprisoned all that frequently with the law back in place. But they will face extortion by police -- pay me a bribe or I turn you over to the courts.

Gay City News in New York delves into the case in lots of detail, exploring the court's reasoning. One part of the ruling is annoying and contradictory. The Supreme Court criticized the High Court because it relied on judicial rulings outside the country. And yet,

In answering the Delhi High Court’s concern about legislating morality, the Supreme Court justices pointed to the dissents made by US Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas in the 2003 Texas sodomy case in which they argued government has a right to enforce its moral views.

Nothing like digging up the worst. That 2003 case was the one that legalized gay sex in the United States.

Some feel Parliament won't try to repeal the ban before elections this coming spring. The conservative party is gaining ground. Yet, a few current Members are looking to repeal the ban soonest.

Back starting in 2005 a World Values Survey asked citizens of many countries how they felt about homosexuality, among other things. The national feeling was on a 10 point scale where 10 meant everyone felt homosexuality was just fine. United States has a score of about 4.5. India now has the highest score, at 3, of countries that criminalize gay sex. So India is not a great place to be gay.

Erik Voeten of the Washington Post ponders why some countries with scores lower than India's do not criminalize gay sex. Some are countries that never criminalized it. These were not colonies of France or Britain. Others are parts of international groups (such as those under the European Court of Human Rights) that demanded their sodomy bans be repealed. Alas, removing a sodomy ban does not make a country less homophobic.