A visiting human rights
professor scheduled to teach at NYU School of Law this fall
vigorously opposes LGBT rights, according to
Inside Higher Ed.
Thio Li-ann (pictured) of the National University of Singapore
will teach a course on "Human Rights in Asia," but
her dedication to minority rights apparently does not extend to
LGBT people.
As a nominated member
of parliament in Singapore, the distinguished academic fought
the repeal of a law that punished adults who had consensual gay
sex with up to two years in prison. During the debate over the
law, she compared anal sex to "shoving a straw up your
nose to drink" in a speech documented
here
.
The group for NYU gay
and lesbian law students, NYU Outlaw, issued a
statement
on Thursday calling on the top-ranked law school to condemn the
antigay statements of Thio. However, NYU Outlaw pledged to
engage the visiting professor in a dialogue in the fall rather
than call for her removal. "The board thinks it best to
fight Dr. Thio's offensive views not by silencing her but
by engaging in a respectful and productive dialogue about the
boundaries of human rights," said NYU Outlaw.
In an e-mail interview
with
Inside Higher Ed
, Thio questioned the idea of a "human right to sodomy"
and rejected the "imperialism" of the international LGBT
rights framework.
"I think certain
Americans have to realize the fact that there are a diversity
of views on the subject and it is not a settled matter; there
is no universal norm and it is nothing short of moral
imperialism to suggest there is," Thio wrote. "Correct me
if I am wrong, but there is no consensus on this even within
the U.S. Supreme Court and American society at large, even post
Lawrence v. Texas.
"
In the 2003 ruling,
Supreme Court justices voted 6-3 to strike down antisodomy
laws.
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