International Olympic Committee Pressured to Take a Stand Against Countries Which Oppress Gays

The International Olympic Committee is responding tepidly to growing calls for action against anti-gay nations applying to compete in the Olympic Games as London 2012 approaches.

In late May British human rights lawyer Mark Stephens wrote an article in the UK Guardian calling on the IOC to penalize countries that criminalize homosexuality:

[Stephens] called on the IOC to ban the roughly 75 countries - mostly from Africa, the Caribbean and the Islamic world - that outlaw homosexual activity. That demand has been embraced by Peter Tatchell, a leading British gay-rights campaigner, and has prompted several human rights organizations to say the IOC should at least speak out, even if a ban at this stage is unrealistic.