I thought Europe was more enlightened than this.
A man going through a routine medical for the Italian military told his examiners he was gay. The information was passed on to the DMV, who then told the man he had to repeat his driving test due to a "sexual identity disturbance." When he did pass the test for a second time, his license was renewed for only one year and not the usual ten.
A court in Sicily threw the book at the authorities and ordered them to pay the man €100,000 (USD 158,770) in damages saying homosexuality is not a mental illness.
Of course it isn't. If only PMS and his cronies were so enlightened. Well, they aren't -- many of them are old Alberta SoCreds which supported the sterlization of homosexuals as state policy well into the 1960s; and would gladly invoke the notwithstanding clause to resume the practise if they had the chance.
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2 comments:
"homosexuality is not a mental illness."
For some reason I get reminded of Tommy Douglas when I hear that. Not saying that I agree with what these Italian have done, but let it be know what some past Canadian Politicians were saying before you link this to Stephen Harper and the current government.
You can't watch the vid from the link below, it seems it has been removed, looks like people are trying to re-write history, but the comments make it clear enough.
http://queer-liberal.blogspot.com/2008/04/tommy-douglas-on-homosexuality-in-1968.html
Tommy Douglas also supported the internment of Japanese Canadians during World War II; and there are a lot of people who want to sweep that under the rug as well.
As far as homosexuality, even the American Psychiatric Association once called it a mental illness in the DSM. It no longer does so, and I just find it interesting that manny (though not all) of the same people who still would view it as an illness as such are the same as those who dismiss psychiatry in general. There are ignorant people on both sides of the aisle.
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