10th June 2011.

Imagine being forced to leave your home  country to be with your partner or lover. Or being imprisoned in appalling conditions for years just for being gay, or physically mistreated or even put to death?

All of these threats are real for gay people in many parts of the world today. Not only that but the struggle for gay rights is being met by ever more powerful, sophisticated and well funded campaigns to roll back those rights (often at the behest of religious extremists).   The threats can come from the law itself  or from groups operating outside the letter of the law but with the authorities failing to act, or even colluding. Even in Britain gay people have been murdered just for being gay, even in the “safest” parts of Central London.

Since 2005, The International Day Against Homophobia has been held in  around the world to fight these threats and stand up for LGBT rights.

One man, Louis George Tin has been at the centre of this struggle as IDAHO  founder and President . The Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association (GALHA) is privileged to have Louis-Georges as our guest speaker at a meeting to mark IDAHO. This will explore what IDAHO has achieved, what it is doing now and what it should aim to do in future. Questions and suggestions from the floor will be welcome.

An estimated 50 million people were involved in the IDAHO campaign for 2011.    http://www.dayagainsthomophobia.org/IMG/pdf/IDAHO2011Communiqueform.pdf

Further details about the speaker( including his rendition of "We shall Overcome"-at the United Nations are here.

http://www.arsenalia.com/louis-georges-tin-with-a-homophobia-update/