EU parliament urges gay equality

The European Parliament has urged member countries to give equal rights to gay men and lesbians, in the wake of anti-gay developments across the continent.The parliament, which represents about 450 million European Union citizens, passed a resolution calling on nations to remove discrimination in areas including property rights, pensions and tenancy law, Associated Press reported.The resolution also proposed penalties for member countries that did not provide equality for gay couples in workplace law.The move follows a series of anti-gay moves by European governments in recent months, including the banning of a gay pride march in Poland and the prohibition of same-sex marriage in Latvia.