Falsely calling someone gay is no longer slander, according to a New York court decision, because it is not considered shameful to be homosexual. It is a ruling that has upset gay rights activists who fear that social hostility toward homosexuality remains in many parts of the country. The Appellate Division in Albany on Thursday wiped out decades of rulings, including its own, to say that society no longer treats false comments that someone is gay, lesbian or bisexual as defamation. Without defamation, there is no longer slander, the court ruled. The new case law was set after the court...
