UK Asylum seekers can come out

Via Colorlines (which you should all be reading, by the way, because it's a fantastic blog), I found this fantastic piece of news which I had somehow missed until now: the UK supreme court has ruled that it is not necessary for LGBT asylum seekers to hide their sexuality, and they can apply for asylum if they are open about their sexuality.

(Um, yeah. Apparently, it was previously seen as completely acceptable to return asylum seekers to places they were going to be persecuted or killed, with the words "suck it up and deal, and don't flaunt it!" Le sigh. Thank goodness for the bravery of these two gay men, one from Cameroon, one from Iran, who have fought this up through the courts.)

The BBC coverage is here, and the Guardian coverage is here. The BBC article quotes Lord Hope as saying:

Lord Hope, who read out the judgement, said: "To compel a homosexual person to pretend that his sexuality does not exist or suppress the behaviour by which to manifest itself is to deny his fundamental right to be who he is.

"Homosexuals are as much entitled to freedom of association with others who are of the same sexual orientation as people who are straight."

About time too.

Also: the court's decision was unanimous.

--IP