After winning his fourth Commonwealth
Games gold medal, British diver Tom Daley called on nations to
decriminalize homosexuality.
According to the BBC, homosexuality
remains illegal in 70 percent of the 53 countries that are
participating in the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in
Australia.
Daley, who came out in 2013 and is
expecting
his first child in June with husband Dustin Lance Black, won gold
in the 10m synchronized diving event with partner Dan Goodfellow.
“Coming to the Gold Coast and being
able to live as an openly gay man is really important," said
Daley, 23, during an appearance on BBC Breakfast. "You
want to feel comfortable in who you are when you are standing on that
diving board, and for 37 Commonwealth countries that are here
participating that is not the case."
“I feel extremely lucky to compete
openly as who I am, not worry about ramifications. But for lots of
people living in those countries it is not the case. We have to talk
about these things and shine a light on them in order to get change.
By Birmingham and the next Commonwealth Games [in 2022], I really
hope we see a decrease in that number of countries that criminalize
LGBT issues.”
"I feel with the Commonwealth, we
can really help push some of the other nations to relax their laws on
anti-gay stuff,” Daley
added.
Daley also posted similar messages on
Twitter and Instagram.