What states and countries are better in their treatment of gays? What countries and states are worse?

The best——perhaps Sweden, Denmark or The Netherlands.

The worse——most countries in Africa, as well as countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, and other Middle Eastern countries. I think a person can be sent to prison or even executed if they engaged in homosexual activities there. Women still aren’t permitted to drive in some Muslim countries, so I’m not surprised.

I’m not sure if it’s legal where I live. I guy got fired a few years ago from his teaching job because he was gay, but then he took it to court and he won the case. I think it’s still illegal for gays to get married where I live.

I basically live in the Bible-Belt, white bread part of North America.

I guess the Netherlands are relatively a good country for gays, although the last couple of years there is proof of more and more gay-bashings in Amsterdam (when couples walk hand in hand in the streets).
And lesbians feel that they are behind from gay men (at least that is what i read in the papers).

Greece is the only country that I personally know something about.
A friend of mine, who lives in Canada now (maybe as a consequence of it), is gay.
His parents (supposedly) don’t know it…, we all do.
He married a woman, for fun they said, but I suspect (as do we all) that is also a smoke curtain for the parents (and the other elderly who are connected to the parents).
I guess that tells us something about the willingness to accept homosexuality….

@rebbel

“I guess the Netherlands are relatively a good country for gays, although the last couple of years there is proof of more and more gay-bashings….”

I also heard about some nascent anti-gay activity there and I think in Canada too, but I still see your country and my first one as being generally fairer in their treatment of gays than the US.

Uganda is the worst. Others are Iran, Cameroon, Nigeria, Kuwait, Sudan. (Source)

Not most of Africa, that’s for sure.

See @Aethelflaed

@Aethelflaed Thanks for the list. Just curious…why did you not mention Jamaica, which ranks #2 on that list?

@Pied_Pfeffer Because the question asked about countries where it was specifically illegal. The list seemed to indicate that it wasn’t actually illegal in Jamaica, just horribly, horribly socially unacceptable. I could be wrong about that, it’s just what I got from the list.

@Aethelflaed Thank you for pointing that out. I knew you would have a valid reason.

@Pied_Pfeffer No prob ;)

Homosexuality is on the whole fairly well accepted socially in the UK but same-sex marriage is still a sitcking point. There are civil unions here, which are identical in all but name to a heterosexual marriage. The only difference is that they cannot be done in a place of worship. The legal rights given to a civil-partnered same sex couple are identical to those given to a heterosexual married couple.

BUT

The Civil Partnership is kept separate from the heterosexual marriage and it puts someone like me in an insane situation. I am legally married to my husband, and I am in the process of transitioning my legal gender from female to male. At the point where I get my gender legally changed we become a same-sex couple, so the marriage has to be annulled, and then we can replace it with a civil partnership. It’s just crazy.

Same-sex marriage has been legal here in Massachusetts since 2004. It’s also legal in Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont.

@tom_g

I still have the email from the HRC announcing its legalization in MA:

“Today, May 17 2004, will be forever remembered as the day our country took an enormous step forward in our journey towards true equality.”

Have there been any attempts in MA to overturn same-sex marriage there?

There was a weak attempt back in 2007 to amend the state constitution.

Other than that, I am not aware of any. The apocalypse didn’t happen. People didn’t end up marrying their toasters. My opposite-sex marriage didn’t disintegrate. What did happen was that a ton of “married” couples were able to drop the quotes and actually be married. It’s a good thing.

Morocco isn’t accepting of the LGBT community.

Article 489 of the Penal Code of Morocco criminalizes “lewd or unnatural acts with an individual of the same sex.”.[2] Same-sex sexual activity is illegal in Morocco and can be punished with anything from 6 months to 3 years imprisonment and a fine of 120 to 1200 dirhams.[3][4] However, the law is sporadically enforced by the authorities,[4] with a degree of tolerance extended to homosexuality in the holiday resorts like Marrakesh.[4] Oftentimes these relationships are a form of prostitution, involving tourists. The legal status of LGBT people living in Morocco stems largely from traditional Islamic morality, which views homosexuality and cross-dress as signs of immorality.[5]

Morocco has a macho culture, with rigid gender roles that requires a male, regardless of his sexual orientation, to get married and have children.[7] The government has also reportedly stepped up its crackdowns on homosexuality with several public arrests.

Fortunately, it looks like their king is attempting to make some changes.

In 2010, the government permitted openly gay singer Elton John to gave a performance during the Mawazine Festival, despite objections from the Justice and Development Party, which is the biggest opposition party in the parliament [2]. The festival was sponsored by King Mohammed VI and is part of the king’s broader plan to create a more open and modern nation [3].

Source