dagblog - Comments for "Kuwait Will "Test" Gay Travelers and Send Them Home"

The Iranian Revolutionary

artappraiser — Sat, 12 Oct 2013 19:51:33 +0000

In reply to Kuwait Will "Test" Gay Travelers and Send Them Home

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard don't need no stinkin' Kuwaiti gaydar test:

Iran arrests 'network of homosexuals and satanists' at birthday party
Revolutionary guards raid hall in city of Kermanshah where group was dancing, taking away at least 17 people
By Saeed Kamali Dehghan, theguardian.com, 10 October 2013

Iran's revolutionary guards have announced the arrest of "a network of homosexuals and satanists" in the western city of Kermanshah, close to the country's border with Iraq, prompting fresh alarm over the treatment of gay people in the Islamic republic.

The news website of the revolutionary guards in Kermanshah province, home to the country's Kurd ethnic minority, reported on Thursday that their elite forces had dismantled what it claimed to be a network of homosexuals and devil-worshippers.

A number of foreign nationals, including Iraqis, were also among those detained, the report said, adding that eight of the group were married to each other.

The group were picked up from one of the city's ceremony halls, which they had rented for a birthday party. The guards' webiste said they were dancing as the raid ensued.

The revolutionary guards claimed the group had been under surveillance for some time but did not specify how many people were arrested. [....]

The Guardian has been informed that the raid took place on Tuesday night when some 80 people, including both straight and gay Iranians, had gathered for a birthday party in Kermanshah. At least 17 people who had tattoos, make-up, or were wearing rainbow bracelets were blindfolded and taken to an unknown location, according to a local source. Partygoers were filmed by the elite forces and had their mobile phones confiscated. [....]

Regarding Moslem social

Aaron Carine — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 18:42:00 +0000

In reply to Kuwait Will "Test" Gay Travelers and Send Them Home

Regarding Moslem social attitudes, the Pew Research Center's surveys haven't been encouraging. A healthy majority opposes terrorism, but there is strong support for other bad things--making sharia the law of the land, death for apostasy, big time sexism etc. But Moslems in America and Europe have much more liberal attitudes than other Moslems. In its essence, Islam probably isn't much worse than other religions, it's that the Enlightenment hasn't sufficiently penetrated the Middle East and North Africa.

Strange but true and just

Bruce Levine — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 01:23:56 +0000

In reply to Kuwait Will "Test" Gay Travelers and Send Them Home

Strange but true and just awful, no? And, seriously, how does one go about testing as such? From the linked article:

A medical test being developed by Kuwait will be used to 'detect' homosexuals and prevent them from entering the country – or any of the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC), according to a Kuwaiti government official, the Daily Mail reported.

. . .

Richard Lane, from gay rights campaign group Stonewall, told the Daily Mail: "These proposals are not only futile but contrary to international human rights law. Many Gulf states have gone to great lengths to market themselves as open for international business. Their leaders should think long and hard about putting forward measures to restrict freedom of movement and further prohibit the best talent from doing business in the region simply because of their sexual orientation."

. . .

It’s illegal to be gay in 78 countries, with lesbianism banned in 49. Five countries mete out the death penalty to gay people – Sudan, Yemen and Mauritania.