Intro: Honduras does not come up as a gay mecca on any scale and I expected as much. But to my pleasant surprise I found the capital, Tegucigalpa, to be home to a bustling community of LGBT groups and activists. All it took was connecting with the right person who knew just about everything and everyone. So I was escorted to the half dozen beehives where LGBT life is alive and well–despite the political chaos.
Homosexuality is legal in Honduras. However, Honduran lawmakers unanimously approved (March 2005) a constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriage and adoptions by same-sex couples. The vote by Honduras’ National Assembly came just months after the government formally recognized several gay civil rights groups – a move that outraged church leaders in this overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country. The constitutional amendment also refuses to recognize same-sex marriages or unions that occurred legally in other countries. Needless to say, homophobia runs high in this Catholic country.
Name: Honduras
Population: 7485000
Capital: Tegucigalpa - Pop. 1350000
Area: 112088 sq. km/ sq. miles
Language: Spanish
Religion: Roman Catholic
Status of Homosexuality: Legal
Telephone Country Code: 504
Honduras: 215 LGBT people killed in 7 years, 2016/Apr/12
Honduran LGBT leader talks coup, U.S. gov’t, 2014/Jul/09
Isabella: Honduran Woman Seeks Protection in U.S. Where She Can Embrace Her Gay Identity, 2014/Jun/03
USAID launches partnership to promote LGBT rights, 2013/Apr/09
Honduras reforms its penal code to end human right violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity, 2013/Apr/05
Inciting hatred will be punished in Honduras, 2013/Feb/21
Remembering Erick Martinez, 2012/May/10
Honduras is test of new US policy on gay rights, 2012/Jan/18
Gay Honduras News & Reports 2011, 2011/Feb/04
Gay Honduras News & Reports, 2009/Jan/01