Intro: The view of modern Panama depends on where you stand: in a luxury high-rise city condo or a tiny jungle village or a small working class town. All three will present a different face of homosexuality in this famous canal country. Homophobia runs high but gay life carries on openly, hidden or appreciated in
Homosexual acts are legal in Panama. The decriminalization occurred on July 31, 2008, when Presidential Decree No. 332 came into force. It repealed Article 12 of the Decree No. 149 of 1949, which previously criminalized homosexual relations. The age of consent is equal at 18. There are also no laws protecting gays from discrimination. Gays and lesbians are banned from both the armed forces and the police. Panama’s 2007 Gay Pride march occurred on June 30. Activists from the Association of New Men and Women of Panama (AHMNP, by its Spanish initials) gathered on Via España at Via Argentina to pass out “Myths about homosexuality” leaflets and condoms.
Name: Panama
Population: 3310000
Capital: Panama City - Pop. 709000
Area: 75517 sq. km/ sq. miles
Language: Spanish
Religion: Roman Catholic
Status of Homosexuality: Legal
Telephone Country Code: 507
Gay Panama: A Fight for Acceptance
A guest writer for Reuters offers a realistic and raw glimpse of mostly daunting gay life in this small country with the famous canal.Yet there are small signs of hope for easing of machistic policies and attitudes. Following this is a commentary from a recent visitor to Panama who found his own satisfying scene. Also