UK says gay sex OK overseas

—By Amos Kenigsberg

| Thu Dec. 28, 2000 1:00 AM PST

Homosexual sex is not illegal in the United Kingdom, unlike in some US states. Now the UK is taking its liberal policy a step further, according to PLANETOUT.COM, by officially decriminalizing gay sex in its far-flung territories as of Jan. 1.

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Some territories' native politicians have their own religious or traditional objections to homosexuality, and resisted. London originally tried to persuade localities to decriminalize gay sex, but finally stepped in and forced the change. Some territories, especially in the Caribbean have vowed to fight the order.

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In addition to bringing the territories' laws into line with its own, the UK sought to guarantee basic rights to homosexuals in order to comply with international agreements like the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights.

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