From Bernama.com:

Avoiding masturbation and homosexual activities are among preventive measures one could take against Influenza A (H1N1), according to an eminent practitioner of complimentary therapy.

Dr. V. M. Palaniappan said that such activities caused the body to develop friction heat which in turn, produced acid and made the body hyperacidised.

“Thus, the body becomes an easy target for H1N1 infection,” he told Bernama, emphasising however, that normal sexual union between members of the opposite sex was absolutely safe.

Homosexual sex is illegal in Malaysia, an Islamic country; sodomy can lead to 20 years in prison. In two states, the punishment is death. In 1994, the country banned any open gay or lesbian from appearing in the state-controlled media. In 2001, the Prime Minister announced it would deport any foreign diplomats learned to be gay.

In his petition, Sushil Kumar Kaushal said “even animals don’t indulge in such activities,” adding that allowing gay sex would help spread HIV/AIDS.

The latest development indicated that despite a recent Delhi High Court ruling, gays in India still face a long battle to gain acceptance – social and legal – in this deeply conservative country where even heterosexual sex is talked about in hushed tones.

“If such abnormality is permitted, then tomorrow people might seek permission for having sex with animals,” Kaushal said.

Gays in India are shackled by a law known as Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which makes sex between people of the same gender punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The British colonial era law classifies gay sex as “against the order of nature.”

Gays achieved a small victory when the Delhi High Court struck down the law on July 2.

While there was no major outcry against the ruling, some conservative religious groups made it clear they would fight it. Among those was Kaushal, a Hindu astrologer, who filed the first petition with the Supreme Court. Leaders of religious groups are also contemplating filing petitions.

The Supreme Court said it will hear Kaushal’s petition on July 20 to decide whether it has merit, said Anand Grover, the lawyer for Naz Foundation, a gay rights group that filed the original petition against Section 377 eight years ago.

The Supreme Court also asked the Indian government and the Naz Foundation to appear before it to hear their views.

After listening to all parties, the court will decide whether to temporarily suspend the Delhi High Court order while Kaushal’s petition is heard. The Supreme Court ruling will be binding nationally.

While actual criminal prosecutions are rare, the law frequently has been used to harass people.

Muslim and Christian groups have also criticized the ruling with some equating homosexuality with Western culture. But rights activists say the law sanctions discrimination and marginalizes the gay community. Health experts say the law discourages safe sex and has been a hurdle in fighting HIV and AIDS. Roughly 2.5 million Indians have HIV.

The U.N. agency UNAIDS has welcomed the court ruling and said it would make it easier to reach homosexual men with programs to combat the spread of HIV.

Homosexuality is slowly gaining acceptance in some parts of India, especially in its big cities. Many bars have gay nights, and some high-profile Bollywood films have dealt with gay issues. The last two years have also seen large gay pride parades in New Delhi and other big cities such as Mumbai and Calcutta.

Still, being gay remains deeply taboo in most of the country, and many homosexuals hide their sexual orientation from friends and families.

The provision makes homosexuality a criminal offense with up to three years in  prison and heavy fines. It has the backing of President Pierre Nkurunziza, who said Monday he will sign the legislation as soon as it reaches his desk this week.

The bill is part of a sweeping reform of the country’s criminal code that also bans capital punishment, protects women and children from all forms of violence – especially sexual violence – and toughens laws on genocide.

The legislation passed Burundi’s House last year, but the Senate removed the ban on homosexuality. The ban was quietly reinstated last week and passed the upper house. Amnesty International’s Africa program director Erwin van der Borght welcomed the abolition of the death penalty in Burundi, saying that it “further strengthens the international trend towards abolition.” Burundi has now become the 93rd country in the world to abolish the death penalty for all crimes.

But he said in a statement, “this good news is undermined by the government’s decision to criminalize homosexuality, in violation of Burundi’s obligations under international and regional human rights law. It also flies in the face of Burundi’s constitution, which guarantees the right to privacy.”

Amnesty warned that the provision could result in the imprisonment of people solely for their actual or imputed sexual orientation, including private sexual relations between consenting adults.

Health organizations in Burundi have said that the new law may also limit the effectiveness of their work to curb HIV/AIDS. They have stated that the current amendment undermines attempts to ensure that people have access to voluntary counseling and testing, to information about prevention of infection and access to treatment where needed.

The measure would legalize civil unions with all of the benefits, protections and responsibilities of marriage.  It also would recognize domestic partnerships entered into in other states. Marriages from Massachusetts and Connecticut would be regarded as civil unions.

Under the legislation, same-sex couples would have to obtain a license and then have the civil union performed by a judge, a retired judge or a member of the clergy.

“It’s really inspiring for me today,” said state House Majority Leader Blake Oshiro (D) the bill’s sponsor. But its main opponent, State Rep. Gene Ward (R) said it was the beginning of a “slippery slope” and that gays would not be satisfied until they got same-sex marriage. “This is not to condemn individuals, it’s to protect an institution,” he said.

In 1993, the Hawaii Supreme Court was the first in the country to rule that barring same-sex marriage could be a violation of the state constitutional protection of equal rights.

In 1997, the Legislature passed a domestic partner law allowing gay couples to register with the state Department of Health. It allowed couples to have rights as reciprocal beneficiaries in hospital visitations, inheritance and property, and the ability to sue for wrongful death.

But in 1998 as calls for same-sex marriage increased,  nearly 70 percent of Hawaii voters passed a constitutional amendment giving the Legislature the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples.

(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court ruling that the city of Philadelphia did not violate the rights of members of an anti-gay group when it arrested them during a protest at the city’s gay pride celebration in 2004.

The three-judge panel of U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit said that Repent America had a constitutional right to demonstrate, but not disrupt OyutFest.

Eleven demonstrators from Repent America had sued the city and Philly Pride Presents, the organizer of OutFest, alleging their civil rights had been violated.

In 2007 U.S. District Judge Lawrence Stengel disagreed, granting summary judgment for the city and Philly Pride. Repent America appealed to the Third Circuit.

In its ruling the appeals court panel said that “had ample justification” in ordering the protesters to move because the group was interfering with OutFest.

“The police action was not based on the content of [the activists'] message but on their conduct,” the ruling said.

When members of Repent America showed up at the 2004 event police allowed them to demonstrate at the edge of a cordoned off area where OutFest was being held.

But when the demonstrators began using a bullhorn yelling Biblical passages to drown out the events on stage pride organizers complained to police.

The protestors then allegedly attempted to enter the cordoned off area, continuing to use the bullhorn to condemn homosexuality.

The ruling noted that a video of the protest showed the Repent America demonstrators had attempted to “drown out” speakers at OutFest. The gay event, held every October, had a city permit.

“The right of free speech does not encompass the right to cause disruption, and that is particularly true when those claiming protection of the First Amendment cause actual disruption of an event covered by a permit,” the ruling said.

Both sides in the legal battle claimed victory and Repent America founder Michael Marcavage said the group would protest at this year’s OutFest.

Marcavage has been arrested, detained or cited by police around the country since founding Repent America in 2002, including at a demonstration against same-sex marriages in San Francisco.