The Gay Legal Rulings Thread

[The Minsky Moment]

aka the plot to suppress Martinus' thread count.

First up:
Yonaty v. Mincolla - New York's highest court effectively endorsed a ruling rejecting the ancient common law rule that impuation of homosexuality is libel per se, citing the evolution in social attitudes.

[Eddie Teach]

Guess we'll have to sue Brain in a different state.

[crazy canuck]

aka the plot to suppress Martinus' thread count.

First up:
Yonaty v. Mincolla - New York's highest court effectively endorsed a ruling rejecting the ancient common law rule that impuation of homosexuality is libel per se, citing the evolution in social attitudes.

Future cases will make an exception for any imputation of being Marti-like.

[garbon]

http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?id=141833

Turkish Court Rules Gay Sex Is Natural

An Istanbul court ruled on Monday that consensual sex between two men is natural. The landmark ruling contradicts rulings made in the past by the country's Supreme Court, Gay Star News reports.

The ruling involved a merchant who was caught selling 125 DVDs of gay porn. The trader's personal information has not been published but his initials are D.M. D.M. faced up to four years in prison as Turkey's penal code outlaws citizens from owning, selling, distributing and publishing "unnatural sex" videos.

In a surprise ruling, however, Jude Manmut Erdemli said that sexual orientation cannot be considered unnatural and it should be respected. The ruling goes against the country's Supreme Court, which has ruled that gay sex is unnatural, along with beastality, in past cases.

What is more remarkable, the judge pointed to the legality of gay marriages in the United States and in Europe. "Today, it is possible to have gay marriages in modern countries," he said in his ruling.

"International regulations prohibit discrimination regarding peoples' sexual preference, and it is therefore an obligation to respect their sexual orientation," Erdemli said. "In this respect, most of the European countries see gay relationships as equivalent to marriage. Contemporary societies allow [gay relationships] to achieve this legal status and therefore the contents of the DVDs can not be seen as unnatural."

Although the court ruled that D.M. was not guilty of selling unnatural porn, he was found guilty of "the unauthorized selling of porn" and received eight months in prison. Turkey's criminal division of the Supreme Court slammed the lower court's ruling and said same gay sex and group sex are unnatural and the court was wrong to sentence the trader for just eight months, instead of four years.

LGBT rights have not progressed much in the Eurasian country as gay marriage is not recognized or any form of same-sex relationships. Additionally, sexual orientation and gender identity are not part of Turkey's civil rights laws but transgender individuals are allowed to undergo sex reassignment surgery.

Modern Turkey was founded on the ruins of the long-tottering Ottoman Empire after the First World War as a progressive, adamantly secular nation. Although the nation is almost entirely Muslim, it has traditionally protected other religions.

Istanbul remains as the seat of the Eastern Orthodox Church, and it is the only remaining Muslim Middle Eastern nation where a small Jewish minority remains at all, let alone thrives. Turkey has, until recently, been especially notable as an ally of Israel.

In recent years, the ascendency of an Islamic political party has leaned the nation more toward the Sharia law of its neighbor Iran. Even so, the nation, which spans Europe and Asia, has long sought entry to the European Union.

Thus, the ruling by the judge can be viewed in geopolitical terms as another subtle bow Turkey is making toward entry in the EU, which has mandated that any nation wishing to join the economic union must demonstrate its bona fides as regards to its LGBT citizens.

[mongers]

aka the plot to suppress Martinus' thread count.

First up:
Yonaty v. Mincolla - New York's highest court effectively endorsed a ruling rejecting the ancient common law rule that impuation of homosexuality is libel per se, citing the evolution in social attitudes.

But wouldn't you need some lawtalker skills to post an opinion in this thread ?

[Admiral Yi]

I wouldn't say Turkey is a Middle Eastern country.

[garbon]

I wouldn't say Turkey is a Middle Eastern country.

Quick google search shows most people including Turkey on maps of Middle East though there is a sizable subset that does not.

[The Brain]

New York.

[The Minsky Moment]

But wouldn't you need some lawtalker skills to post an opinion in this thread ?

Don't think so - these cases are of general public interest.

[fhdz]

But wouldn't you need some lawtalker skills to post an opinion in this thread ?

That's never stopped Marti before!

[Malthus]

http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?id=141833

Turkish Court Rules Gay Sex Is Natural

An Istanbul court ruled on Monday that consensual sex between two men is natural. The landmark ruling contradicts rulings made in the past by the country's Supreme Court, Gay Star News reports.

The ruling involved a merchant who was caught selling 125 DVDs of gay porn. The trader's personal information has not been published but his initials are D.M. D.M. faced up to four years in prison as Turkey's penal code outlaws citizens from owning, selling, distributing and publishing "unnatural sex" videos.

In a surprise ruling, however, Jude Manmut Erdemli said that sexual orientation cannot be considered unnatural and it should be respected. The ruling goes against the country's Supreme Court, which has ruled that gay sex is unnatural, along with beastality, in past cases.

What is more remarkable, the judge pointed to the legality of gay marriages in the United States and in Europe. "Today, it is possible to have gay marriages in modern countries," he said in his ruling.

"International regulations prohibit discrimination regarding peoples' sexual preference, and it is therefore an obligation to respect their sexual orientation," Erdemli said. "In this respect, most of the European countries see gay relationships as equivalent to marriage. Contemporary societies allow [gay relationships] to achieve this legal status and therefore the contents of the DVDs can not be seen as unnatural."

Although the court ruled that D.M. was not guilty of selling unnatural porn, he was found guilty of "the unauthorized selling of porn" and received eight months in prison. Turkey's criminal division of the Supreme Court slammed the lower court's ruling and said same gay sex and group sex are unnatural and the court was wrong to sentence the trader for just eight months, instead of four years.

LGBT rights have not progressed much in the Eurasian country as gay marriage is not recognized or any form of same-sex relationships. Additionally, sexual orientation and gender identity are not part of Turkey's civil rights laws but transgender individuals are allowed to undergo sex reassignment surgery.

Modern Turkey was founded on the ruins of the long-tottering Ottoman Empire after the First World War as a progressive, adamantly secular nation. Although the nation is almost entirely Muslim, it has traditionally protected other religions.

Istanbul remains as the seat of the Eastern Orthodox Church, and it is the only remaining Muslim Middle Eastern nation where a small Jewish minority remains at all, let alone thrives. Turkey has, until recently, been especially notable as an ally of Israel.

In recent years, the ascendency of an Islamic political party has leaned the nation more toward the Sharia law of its neighbor Iran. Even so, the nation, which spans Europe and Asia, has long sought entry to the European Union.

Thus, the ruling by the judge can be viewed in geopolitical terms as another subtle bow Turkey is making toward entry in the EU, which has mandated that any nation wishing to join the economic union must demonstrate its bona fides as regards to its LGBT citizens.

That is a surprise. The article though leaves much to be desired in terms of clarity. Does this mean that the lower court ruling was overturned on appeal, or what?

Turkey's criminal division of the Supreme Court slammed the lower court's ruling and said same gay sex and group sex are unnatural and the court was wrong to sentence the trader for just eight months, instead of four years.

If so, sadly, not so much of a surprise.

[Malthus]

aka the plot to suppress Martinus' thread count.

First up:
Yonaty v. Mincolla - New York's highest court effectively endorsed a ruling rejecting the ancient common law rule that impuation of homosexuality is libel per se, citing the evolution in social attitudes.

But wouldn't you need some lawtalker skills to post an opinion in this thread ?

Not really. All this means is that if you publicly claim someone's gay in a publication and they aren't, that person can't turn around and sue you for harming his reputation - because being called gay doesn't actually harm a reputation any more. It's like claiming someone is Anglican when they are really Episcopalian or something, rather than (say) like claiming someome is a rapist pedophile.

[mongers]

aka the plot to suppress Martinus' thread count.

First up:
Yonaty v. Mincolla - New York's highest court effectively endorsed a ruling rejecting the ancient common law rule that impuation of homosexuality is libel per se, citing the evolution in social attitudes.

But wouldn't you need some lawtalker skills to post an opinion in this thread ?

Not really. All this means is that if you publicly claim someone's gay in a publication and they aren't, that person can't turn around and sue you for harming his reputation - because being called gay doesn't actually harm a reputation any more. It's like claiming someone is Anglican when they are really Episcopalian or something, rather than (say) like claiming someome is a rapist pedophile.

I think I should have attached an appropriate smilie to my post. 

[Josquius]

Not really. All this means is that if you publicly claim someone's gay in a publication and they aren't, that person can't turn around and sue you for harming his reputation - because being called gay doesn't actually harm a reputation any more. It's like claiming someone is Anglican when they are really Episcopalian or something, rather than (say) like claiming someome is a rapist pedophile.

What if though they make their living from being attractive and having female fans?
Though being gay wouldn't be a big deal for most people's living, doctors or lawyers or journalists or whatever; for someone who trades off their theoretical availability it could be quite damning, actors and singers and the like.

[Martinus]

Not a surprise an Istanbul court ruled differently from the Supreme Court - I understand that Istanbul has a culture completely different from the rest of Turkey - it is very cosmopolitan and European.