Gay.com has a couple of interesting news stories today. Group fights deportation of Palestinian gays concerns the negotiations going on to allow gay Palestinians to claim asylum in Israel.
As in many Muslim countries, being gay in the Palestinian territories is treated as a crime against Islam. In most cases non-state actors, like the family, become the judge, jury and juror to decide a gay person's fate. Reports of Nazi-style treatment of openly gay Palestinians are common.
The article focuses on the case of 'Tarek', who is on trial for being in Israel without a permit and who faces death if he is deported to the Gaza Strip. He told Lior Mencher, the head of Aguda -- the Association of Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals and Transgendered in Israel, I escaped from Gaza and came to Israel to live ? not to be returned to be killed. ? Where is someone to help me?
In the United States, extremist Christians are campaigning to have tomorrow's Day of Silence cancelled.
Organised by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, the day involves students, faculty and staff taking a vow of silence to protest that harassment and discrimination can silence gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students in school.
Last year, over 150,000 people in 2000 schools took part. A number of groups who call themselves Christian have gone out of their way to prove the organisers' point. Steve Klein, of Courageous Christians United said:
This silence is ironic considering that sexual deviants, who compromise a tiny percentage of the general population, are among the most vocal and aggressive special-interest groups working to impose their fascist vision of unfettered sexual license on the majority of decent, moral citizens.
Other groups interpret the silence as a means of turning children homosexual! Clearly they believe that gay sex is so much better than the straight variety that anyone getting the slightest hint that it might exist is likely to want nothing else ever again.
Right wing bigots try to cancel Gay Day Of Silence—Gay.com, 8th April 2003.
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