Laws affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or territory—everything from legal recognition of same-sex marriage or other types of partnerships, to the death penalty as punishment for same-sex sexual activity or identity.

LGBT-related laws include but are not limited to: government recognition of same-sex relationships, LGBT adoption, sexual orientation and military service, immigration equality, anti-discrimination laws, hate crime laws regarding violence against LGBT people, sodomy laws, anti-lesbianism laws, and higher ages of consent for same-sex activity.

In 2011, the United Nations passed its first resolution recognizing LGBT rights, and followed up with a report documenting violations of the rights of LGBT people, including hate crime, criminalization of homosexuality, and discrimination.

Throughout Hindu and Vedic texts there are many descriptions of saints, demigods, and even the Supreme Lord transcending gender norms and manifesting multiple combinations of sex and gender. There are several instances in ancient Indian epic poetry of same sex depictions and unions by gods and goddesses. There are several stories of depicting love between same sexes especially among kings and queens. Kamasutra, the ancient Indian treatise on love talks about feelings for same sexes. Transsexuals are also venerated e.g. Lord Vishnu as Mohini and Lord Shiva as Ardhanarishwara (which means half woman).

Boris Ottokar Dittrich (Utrecht, July 21, 1955) is a human rights activist, former Dutch politician and writer.

Dittrich's father came to the Netherlands as a political asylum seeker from Czechoslovakia in 1948. Dittrich qualified and worked as a social lawyer and later as a judge.

In 1994 he became a member of parliament representing the social-liberal party D66.

Boris Dittrich rose to become party leader of D66 in 2003 after Thom de Graaf stepped down after disappointing results in the 2003 general elections.

Dittrich negotiated the participation of D66 in the Dutch coalition government Balkenende II with the Christian-democratic CDA and the other liberal party VVD.

Dittrich decided not to become a minister but to stay party leader in parliament in order to check whether the new government would apply the coalition contract. The new government introduced major reforms to which the staggering Dutch economy responded positively.

D66 withdrew its support for the government after 3 years because of a dispute with the Dutch minister Rita Verdonk (minister of foreigners' affairs and integration) over the way she handled the issue of the Dutch passport of Ayaan Hirsi Ali. This caused the fall of the government and new elections were announced for November 2006.

Wilson Cruz (born Wilson Echevarría; December 27, 1973) is an American actor, known for playing Rickie Vasquez on My So-Called Life and the recurring character Genito on Noah's Arc. As an openly gay person of Afro-Puerto Rican ancestry, he has served as an advocate for gay youth, especially gay youth of color.

Wilson Cruz was born in Brooklyn, New York to parents of Afro-Puerto Rican descent. At age 19, Cruz came out to his parents as gay, first to his mother and then his father. While his mother was initially hurt and shocked, she eventually accepted the news. His father, however, threw him out of the house, and Cruz spent the next few months living in his car and at the homes of friends. He later reconciled with his father.^{[citation needed]}

After coming out to his parents, Cruz went to Hollywood to seek work as an actor, intending to be open about his sexuality from the beginning of his career. In 1994 he was cast as Enrique "Rickie" Vasquez, a troubled gay teen, in the short-lived critically acclaimed cult classic TV series My So-Called Life. In one episode (entitled "So-Called Angels") drawn from Cruz's own life, Rickie comes out to his family, who throw him out of the house.

Dave Rubin is a stand-up comedian, podcaster, blogger and television personality. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, USA and currently resides in New York, New York. Rubin is the co-founder of several successful comedy clubs in New York City, including the New York comedy club The Comedy Company. He is the co-creator of the public-access television series The Anti-Show.

After nine years working as a comedian, Rubin publicly came out as gay in 2006. Rubin was the host of the podcast Hot Gay Comics for the LGBT-themed here! television network and was host to the television series of the same name. With radio personality Ben Harvey, Rubin co-hosted The Ben and Dave Show podcast. The Ben and Dave Show debuted in October 2007 and on March 14, 2008 had its debut as a television series on the network.The Ben and Dave Show vanished from the here! schedule shortly after its debut without explanation. Rubin's podcast Topical, a comedic panel discussion of current events, debuted in May 2008. The series ended on March 26, 2009.

Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( /dɨˈdʒɛnərəs/; born January 26, 1958) is an American stand-up comedian, television host and actress. She hosts the syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

DeGeneres has hosted both the Academy Awards and the Primetime Emmys. As a film actress, she starred in Mr. Wrong, appeared in EDtv and The Love Letter, and provided the voice of Dory in the Disney-Pixar animated film Finding Nemo, for which she was awarded a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress, the first and only time a voice performance won a Saturn Award. She was a judge on American Idol for one year, having joined the show in its ninth season. She also starred in two television sitcoms, Ellen from 1994 to 1998 and The Ellen Show from 2001 to 2002. During the fourth season of Ellen in 1997, DeGeneres came out publicly as a lesbian in an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Shortly afterwards, her character Ellen Morgan also came out to a therapist played by Winfrey, and the series went on to explore various LGBT issues including the coming out process. She has won thirteen Emmys and numerous other awards for her work and charitable efforts.