Tag: homosexuality

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‘Homosexuality’ Trends On Twitter And The Gays Are Having It

The word ‘homosexuality’ is currently trending on Twitter as I write this with nearly 22,000 recent tweets using the term. And no one really seems to know why. But you know the gays, lesbians, and bis are all having it anyway turning the moment into a fun ‘homosexuality’ free-for-all. Just a sample of the what’s what going on:

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Video Mistaken For ‘Gay Wedding’ Lands 10 Men In Jail

When a video clip of a birthday party in Mauritania was posted to social media and wrongly perceived to be a same-sex wedding, authorities rounded up ten men in the video and arrested them. “The prosecutor’s office sent the young homosexual delinquents to prison to await judgment for acts contrary to morality, committing acts forbidden by Allah and circulating a ceremony of debauchery,” a source told Agence France-Presse. Even though police later determined the event in the video was a birthday party, the men remain incarcerated with no trial date scheduled. Mauritania, located in northwest Africa, is governed by strict Islamic law known as Shariah. Article 308 of Mauritania’s criminal code prohibits same-sex behavior between Muslim adults calling such relations as “acts against nature.” In more than half of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa, homosexuality is illegal and can be punishable by the death penalty although Amnesty International reports no executions have been carried out in more than a decade. AFP reports that although investigators established the party was “the birthday party of a homosexual,” the ten men were detained “to help investigations.” Brahim Bilal, the president of a human rights organization in Mauritania, said in a statement the arrests were “a serious attack on the individual and collective freedom of these young people who have the right to display their difference and intimate preferences.” Watch the video which began the ordeal below.

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After Widespread Ridicule, Lawmaker Backpedals On Attempt To Outlaw Word ‘Homosexuality’

Arizona state Sen. Sylvia Allen (screen capture)
A homophobic Arizona lawmaker who proposed legislation outlawing the word “homosexuality” in her state’s schools is now reconsidering her bill. State Senator Sylvia Allen, a Republican from Snowflake (I kid you not), has been virulently homophobic for years opposing same-sex marriage and anti-discrimination laws that would protect queer people. Senate Bill 1082, which she authored, sought to remove the word “homosexuality” from all public school teaching materials reports NBC affiliate 12News in Phoenix. Plus, it would prohibit any student under age 12 from any sex education. Some political observers felt the bill was Allen’s response to Arizona repealing its “No Promo Homo” law in April 2019. That law banned any instruction in schools regarding HIV/AIDS that “promotes a homosexual lifestyle” or “suggests that some methods of sex are safe methods of homosexual sex.” After Allen was publicly ridiculed for her bill, she announced in a statement the media was “misinterpreting the language” of her legislation. “Several news outlets have reported that my bill to provide parents more access and information on sexual education courses also prohibits the inclusion of homosexuality as part of any chosen curricula,” wrote Allen. “That was absolutely not my intention,” she added. “I regret that it has diverted attention from the main goal of the bill, which is to assist parents with more access and transparency, so that they could make informed decisions about the health and welfare of their children.” Saying she would remove the offending provision, she concluded the statement saying she hopes “to return the conversation on this bill back to my original intent – to provide meaningful opportunities for parents to engage and be contributory on this very important issue.” Arizona School Superintendent Kathy Hoffman said she was “appalled” by Allen’s bill. “It appears to undo the progress we have made as a state,” Hoffman said in an interview Thursday. “It could put the state at risk of another lawsuit.” Allen has a history of trying to promote wildly conservative legislation. In 2015, she told the press her state needed a law that would require all citizens of her state to attend church. During a speech in 2019, she warned white Republicans that if they don’t reproduce at a quicker rate “we’re going to look like South American countries very quickly.” In the video below, Allen attempts to explain her bill.

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Kenya: High Court Rules Anti-Gay Laws Not Discriminatory

Flag of Kenya

Kenya’s High Court has upheld the African country’s laws which criminalize homosexual behavior.

LGBTQ activists had argued the laws are discriminatory, lead to increased harassment of the LGBTQ community, and serve to discourage people from seeking HIV testing or treatment.

The plaintiffs involved in the case also said the laws violate the Kenyan Constitution which reads the “state shall not discriminate directly or indirectly against any person on any ground,” including sex.

The three-judge panel, however, ruled the British colonial-era laws are not discriminatory and told the packed courtroom of activists in Nairobi the petitioners had failed to provide “credible evidence” that the laws infringed their rights, reports Quartz.com.

The three laws in question, Sections 162 (a) and (c), 163 and 165 of the nation’s penal code, make it a felony to have “carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature” or to commit “gross indecency.” The punishment for these crimes range from five to twenty-one years in prison.

The “carnal knowledge” offense is generally used to relate to oral and anal intercourse. While the law could apply to people of any gender, it’s primarily used to persecute gay men.

The “gross indecency” section pertains specifically to sexual acts between men.

Of the more than 70 countries that outlaw homosexuality, nearly half are located in Africa.

A report in 2014 found the government of Kenya prosecuted 595 cases of homosexualitybetween 2010 and 2014.

A report from the Kenyan government shows 534 people were arrested for same-sex relationships between 2013 and 2017.

Today’s ruling comes as other countries, like Indiaand Trinidad and Tobago, have recently decriminalized homosexuality.

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Trump Administration To Launch Global Campaign To End Criminalization Of Homosexuality (Whaaat?)

LGBTQ advocates and activists were surprised (to say the least) today by the news that the Trump administration plans to launch a global campaign aimed at ending the criminalization of homosexuality in countries where it’s still illegal to be gay.
Donald Trump

LGBTQ advocates and activists were surprised (to say the least) today by the news that the Trump administration plans to launch a global campaign aimed at ending the criminalization of homosexuality in countries where it’s still illegal to be gay.

NBC News was first to report the effort, to be led by U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, which was apparently sparked by reports of a 31-year-old man being executed via hanging in Iran on allegations of same-sex activity.

Iran has long been seen as a high-priority opponent for the Trump administration.

Grennell, who is openly gay, will reportedly host a ‘strategy dinner’ tonight in Berlin with the U.S. embassy flying in LGBTQ activists from several European countries.

The focus of the campaign will be concentrated in Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean.

An official involved in planning the event tonight told NBC News, “It is concerning that, in the 21st century, some 70 countries continue to have laws that criminalize LGBTI status or conduct.”

The initiative will not be a broad, LGBTQ civil rights campaign but a tightly focused message on criminalization.

It’s not apparent that the new initiative represents a change of heart towards the gay community by the Trump administration.

Grenell has been a longtime critic of Iran, and while the Trump White House has managed to implement increased penalties against Iran, European allies have been slow to join in. Some see shifting the conversation on Iran to issues of human rights violations as a way to encourage Europe to come to the table.

The ambassador penned an op-ed for German news outlet Bild last month, calling news of the hanging a “wake-up call for anyone who supports basic human rights.”

“This is not the first time the Iranian regime has put a gay man to death with the usual outrageous claims of prostitution, kidnapping, or even pedophilia,” wrote Grenell. “And it sadly won’t be the last time they do it either. Barbaric public executions are all too common in a country where consensual homosexual relationships are criminalized and punishable by flogging and death.”

It’s notable that a global message denouncing the criminalization of homosexuality will also put the White House on a collision course with several close allies of the United States. Countries like Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and Oman all have a history of targeting the LGBTQ community.

Saudi Arabia, which Donald Trump has shown great deference, currently has laws that make being gay punishable by death.

According to LGBTQ rights website Equaldex, there are currently 73 countries – primarily in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia – where homosexuality is illegal.

Since taking office, Donald Trump and his administration have attacked the LGBTQ community numerous times from attempting to discharge HIV+ soldiers and ban transgender military service members, to supporting laws that would allow legal discrimination against LGBTQ people, to fighting trans rights to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity.

The Human Rights Campaign keeps an up-to-date list of the many ways Trump has worked to undermine LGBTQ rights here.

Advocacy group GLAAD expressed its skepticism at the seemingly sudden change of heart towards LGBTQ people by the Trump administration tweeting, “We’d believe that the Trump administration will work to protect LGBTQ people around the world if they had not attacked LGBTQ people in the U.S. over 90 times since taking office.”

And the Human Rights Campaign tweeted several examples of the kinds of attacks on the LGBTQ community by the Trump/Pence administration.

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Irish Government Apologizes For Persecuting LGBTs

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadakar

On the 25th anniversary of decriminalizing homosexuality in Ireland, the country’s first openly gay prime minister publicly apologized for the chilling effects of the discarded law.

Via RTE:

The Taoiseach has paid tribute in the Dáil to those who were criminalised for homosexual activity prior to the repeal of the laws in 1993.

“Today the people I want to pay a special tribute to are the unknown heroes, the thousands of people whose names we do not know, who were criminalised by our forbears,” Leo Varadakar told the Dáil during a debate on a Labour party motion marking the 25th anniversary of the repeal of the laws.

The Taoiseach also said that it was no secret that a number of patriots who were involved in the founding of the State – men and women – were homosexual.

“While the state’s laws affected gay men in a legal sense, they had a chilling effect on lesbians as well,” he said.

Mr Varadkar said that we cannot erase the wrong that was done to them: “What we can say is that we have learned as a society from their suffering. Their stories have helped change us for the better; they have made us more tolerant, more understanding and more human.”

Additionally, Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan served similar duty in the Seanad, apologizing to members of the LGBT community who suffered as a result of the criminalisation of homosexuality.

“I extend a sincere apology to all of those people, to their family, and to their friends. “To any person who felt the hurt and isolation created by those laws, and particularly to those who were criminally convicted by the existence of such laws,” said Mr. Flanagan.

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Survey: 29% Of The World Thinks Homosexuality Should Be Criminalized

Via Gay Times:

More than one in four people (28.5%) believe that those in same-sex relationships should be ‘charged as criminals’, according to a new survey of over 100,000 people across 77 countries and territories around the world.

Unsurprisingly, the 2017 ILGA-RIWI Global Attitudes Survey showed that there were major differences in views towards sexual and gender minorities in different regions.

45% of respondents in the 15 African countries surveyed agreed that people who engage in same-sex relationships should be charged as criminals, by far the highest percentage around the world.

Elsewhere, 36% of respondents from the Middle East agreed with that sentiment, compared to 15% of respondents from Australia and New Zealand, and 19% from North America, South America, and Western Europe.

In the UK, one in six (17%) people said they believe that same-sex couples should be charged.

Of the 77 countries that were polled for the survey, 25 continue to hold laws which make being LGBT a crime.

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Pew Research: American Christians Becoming More Accepting Of Homosexuality

Pew Research reports that acceptance for homosexuality among American Christians has risen by 10 points in the past 8 years.

Acceptance of homosexuality is rising across the broad spectrum of American Christianity, including among members of churches that strongly oppose homosexual relationships as sinful, according to an extensive Pew Research Center survey of U.S. religious beliefs and practices.

Amid a changing religious landscape that has seen a declining percentage of Americans who identify as Christian, a majority of U.S. Christians (54%) now say that homosexuality should be accepted, rather than discouraged, by society. While this is still considerably lower than the shares of religiously unaffiliated people (83%) and members of non-Christian faiths (76%) who say the same, the Christian figure has increased by 10 percentage points since we conducted a similar study in 2007.

It reflects a growing acceptance of homosexuality among all Americans – from 50% to 62% – during the same period. Among Christians, this trend is driven partly by younger church members, who are generally more accepting of homosexuality than their elder counterparts.

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Dr. Ben Carson Apologizes For Saying Homosexuality Is A “Choice”

As I reported yesterday, retired neurosurgeon (and probable GOP candidate for president in 2016) Dr. Ben Carson claimed on CNN that homosexuality is definitely a choice and he could prove it because folks have sex in prison.

He then appeared on Sean Hannity’s show and claimed that CNN had edited the interview (even though there were no quick cuts to be seen) that took his statement out of context.

From Mediaite:

During a radio discussion this afternoon with Sean Hannity, Carson blamed the ordeal on CNN. “It was a 25 minute interview they chopped, and you see what part they emphasized,” he said. “I did learn something very important: For certain networks, never do a pre-taped interview. Always do it live.”

Carson continued: “I simply have decided I’m not really going to talk about that issue anymore because every time I’m gaining momentum the liberal press says, ‘Let’s talk about gay rights.’ And I’m just not going to fall for that anymore.”

The problem with Carson’s attempt to play victim here is that, during that sequence of the CNN interview, there were clearly no jump-cuts and no edits — just a straight back-and-forth about whether homosexuality is a choice. Playing this off with a “gotcha media vs. poor ol’ Ben Carson” spin isn’t exactly going to cut it. Sometimes your words are just your words.

Then last night, Carson took to his Facebook page to issue an apology saying he “answered a question without really thinking about it thoroughly.” That part is a bit perplexing in that he’s spoken out about homosexuality often; and, he was unequivocal in his opinion on CNN.

See his apology below:

In a recent interview on CNN, I realized that my choice of language does not reflect fully my heart on gay issues.

I do not pretend to know how every individual came to their sexual orientation. I regret that my words to express that concept were hurtful and divisive. For that I apologize unreservedly to all that were offended.

I’m a doctor trained in multiple fields of medicine, who was blessed to work at perhaps the finest institution of medical knowledge in the world. Some of our brightest minds have looked at this debate, and up until this point there have been no definitive studies that people are born into a specific sexuality. We do know, however, that we are always born male and female. And I know that we are all made in God’s image, which means we are all deserving of respect and dignity.

I support human rights and Constitutional protections for gay people, and I have done so for many years. I support civil unions for gay couples, and I have done so for many years. I support the right of individual states to sanction gay marriage, and I support the right of individual states to deny gay marriage in their respective jurisdictions.

I also think that marriage is a religious institution. Religious marriage is an oath before God and congregation. Religious marriage must only be governed by the church. Judges and government must not be allowed to restrict religious beliefs.

I am not a politician and I answered a question without really thinking about it thoroughly. No excuses. I deeply regret my statement and I promise you, on this journey, I may err again, but unlike politicians when I make an error I will take full responsibility and never hide or parse words. As a human being my obligation is to learn from my mistakes and to treat all people with respect and dignity.