#NoMoreACriminal: 8 People On Life Before & After Section 377 Verdict

There was a law in India because of which a whole lot of people had to keep their identity hidden. Section 377 had been a hotly debated topic for it criminalised gay sex. The law that came to being in 1861 said:

Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.

The Supreme Court has now given its verdict and homosexuality, as of now, has been decriminalised in India. The new verdict comes as a fresh of breath of fresh air for all those who are from the community and also for those who support the cause of the community. The question, though, still remains as to how this new verdict is going to affect the individuals who identify as homosexuals in India.

The decriminalisation of homosexuality is truly an event that will go down in history but how will affect the people from the community?

We talked to eight people from the gay community four months ago and they expressed their opinion about being gay in India. We talked to the same eight people today and here's what they have to say.

1.

"I still can¡¯t come out to my parents. They will take me back but maybe in a few years when they start asking me about marriage, I can be honest with them."

2.

"The only difference is that I can now have sex legally. I want to get married, adopt kids and do all that stuff. Not just for my mom and her dreams of getting me married but for myself. However, this new development still doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll have all these rights."

3.

"I¡¯m extremely happy about love winning over everything else. I think my parents will take time to accept things but it is great that I don¡¯t have to be a criminal anymore."

4.

"I think people will take some time to warm up to those who identify as homosexuals. I¡¯m sure people out there will still make fun of me for wearing certain clothes or talking in a particular way which isn¡¯t masculine but it doesn¡¯t affect my confidence anymore."

5.

"My partner¡¯s parents will still want her to get married and that is going to be our struggle. On the whole, this judgement has done us some good but in our particular life story, there¡¯s a very long way to go."

6.

"See, the boys who thought they can turn me straight by hitting on me or groping me are still going to do it. They¡¯re probably busy updating their social media accounts with how happy they are about the decriminalization of 377 but to understand people who are homosexuals, to realize that a lesbian is attracted only to girls and to truly get respect from the rest of the society without having to defend our sexual orientation is something that will, hopefully, come with time."

7.

"I¡¯m glad. What I went through with losing the love of my life, maybe the coming generation won¡¯t have to."

8.

"Like I said before, being gay in India is tough. Being openly gay is even tougher but with the law backing us now, at least we¡¯ll feel safer identifying as gay. Hopefully, the rare moments won¡¯t be rare anymore."