LGBT Rights by Country or Territory

         One thing the world doesn't agree on, among pretty much everything else, is homosexuality.  Different states hold different values and laws and express different general feelings than others.  For example, same-sex marriage is legal in California but not in New York.  Naturally, these feelings and laws also differ from country to country as well.  This Wiki article can shed some light on many gay rights from many places, from the acceptance of same-sex marriage to the allowance of gays to serve openly in the military in places from Belize to Canada.

      From what I can see, Canada is probably the best place to be gay.  On the chart in the Wiki article, Canada has allowed all the LGBT rights given as example.  However, in places like Trinidad and Tobego, it is illegal to even engage in homosexual acts and violators receive a 25 year prison sentence.  In Barbados, those who commit homosexual acts receive a penalty of life in prison.  Even in Puerto Rico, gays have just recently (1996) been given the right to engage in homosexual acts, and hold no other rights in this commonwealth of the United States.
        In places like Guyana, it is illegal for males to be gay but not for women.  Males who commit to homosexual acts receive life in prison.  This double-standard is rediculous, and Guyana is not the only country who has this law.  The chart can really open one's eyes to the levels of discrimination in certain places and the values many, many countries hold.  I've also included this map posted here to show LGBT rights varying by U.S. states.  As you can see, the gays have got a long way to go.
                                            Gay Rights are Civil Rights
                           Gay Rights are Human Rights