Bhutan votes to decriminalize homosexuality

The Royal Palace at the north end of the Thimphu valley – Bhutan
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan has voted to decriminalize homosexuality during a joint session of parliament. Sixty-three of the 69 members voted in favor of making gay sex legal; the other six were absent.

The bill passed on Human Rights Day.

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Bhutan’s king still has to approve the change, but isn’t expected to oppose the move.

Unlike many neighboring countries, Bhutan was never colonized by European powers. The sparsely populated Buddhist kingdom criminalized “unnatural sex” and “sodomy” in 2004.

“Homosexuality will not be considered as unnatural sex now,” MP Ugyen Wangdi told Reuters.

The concepts of being gay or transgender are “pretty much unheard of” in the nation, and it is often described as an “openly bisexual society.” Bhutanese culture does not…

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