Holy moly, who would have ever thought we'd see the day when the U.S is one of the first 67 nations to sign a UN statement on human rights issues and not one of the last? Even better, the statement is one that condemns violence, harassment, exclusion stigmatization and prejudice based on sexual orientation and gender identity.  So you mean prejudices based on gender identity and sexual orientation are human rights violations that should be  protected against by international human rights law? Um... awesome.

Check the full thing in all its written glory here.

The statement has been controversial, Bush wasn't a huge fan of it, either was the Vatican or Uganda. It even has an opposing statement with 60 signatures drawn up by the Organization of the Islamic Conference, which proclaims that while human rights are good for society, they aren't meant to "protect the rights of certain persons" (cough. gays. cough).

But Obama endorsed it! Hooray, time to whip out our gay happy dance!! The next question is what does this mean for LGBT rights in America? Will prop 8 suddenly go down in flames?  Only time will tell, the statement is non-binding, which means it will be up to the international community and the Obama administration to take legislative action to provide the rights declared within.

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