British human rights minister is backing the Kaleidoscope Trust‘s gay rights campaign
05 JULY 2012 | BY JOE MORGAN
British human rights minister Jeremy Browne is backing Kaleidoscope Trust’s campaign ‘Imagine if it were illegal for you to be you’.
The global gay rights charity launched a campaign with a mock protest at Westminster by the actor and presenter John Barrowman yesterday (4 July).
The video shows footage of people being persecuted and attacked for things they cannot help, like having blue eyes or being short.
The Liberal Democrat said: ‘This video brings home very vividly how it must feel to be singled out and abused just for being who you are. And the statistics are chilling.
In the video, it says 78 countries around the world still criminalize homosexuality and in five cases the maximum penalty is death.
Browne added it was gratifying that, thanks to campaigns like this, the ‘many millions more around the world who do not have the freedom to express their sexuality are not being forgotten.’
Barrowman, famous for his roles in Doctor Who and Torchwood, said: ‘It brings home to people how they would feel if some crazy law made it illegal for them simply to be themselves.
‘We are all human beings and we all deserve the same rights. And that includes the right to love whoever we choose to love.’
Harjeet Johal, Deputy Executive Director of the Kaleidoscope Trust commented: ‘It is hoped this film will come as a timely reminder that whatever freedoms we may enjoy in Britain, those same freedoms are denied to millions of others around the globe.’
For more information on the campaign, visit the Kaleidoscope website.
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