The European Parliament is pushing the 27 member states of the European Union to do better in treating Gay people equally.
The parliament adopted a report January 14 that urged member nations to recognize each other's same-sex partnerships and marriages, and condemned homophobic hate speech by political and religious leaders.
The report also calls on the European Commission to propose legislation to criminalize anti-Gay hate crimes, guarantee the right of free movement within the EU for same-sex couples, and assure that Gay people seeking asylum from anti-Gay nations receive it.
The parliament further requested that a study be done to gauge the level of harassment and violence experienced by Transsexuals in the 27 nations.
The European Union is composed of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
At least 14 of the nations allow same-sex marriage or have civil-union or registered-partnership laws that grant some, most or all of the rights and obligations of marriage to same-sex couples.
In related news, Thomas Hammarberg, the human rights commissioner for the 47-nation Council of Europe, recently denounced the mistreatment of Transgender people in member nations.
"Some people seem to have a problem with the mere existence of human beings whose outer expression of their inner gender identity is not the same as their gender determined at birth," Hammarberg said. "Aggression against Transgender persons cannot however be excused as resulting from ignorance or lack of education. These attitudes cause serious harm to innocent and vulnerable people and must therefore be countered. ... There is no excuse for not immediately granting this community their full and unconditional human rights."
"Council of Europe member states should take all necessary concrete action to ensure that Transphobia is stopped and that Transgender persons are no longer discriminated against in any field," he said.
The Council of Europe is composed of Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Russian Federation, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, "The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia," Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
With assistance from Bill Kelley
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