Courts: ‘Gay’ No Longer Slander

Courts nationwide are deciding that falsely claiming someone is gay is not slander, a reflection on changing attitudes toward homosexuality. Judges have found that, while “gay” may still be used frequently as an insult, it is no longer damaging to one’s reputation. This month a New York state appeals court threw out a defamation lawsuit wherein a woman attempted to break up one man’s relationship with another woman by spreading rumors that he was gay. Reversing legal precedents, the court said the defamation claim was “based on a false premise that it is shameful and disgraceful to be described as lesbian, gay or bisexual.”