We obviously have a lot of problem areas in most of our own 50 states, but some of these are absurd! I think our right-wing fringe fundamentalists are taking their cues from some of this bunch:
While cities around the world hosted upbeat gay pride parades in recent weeks, human-rights activists kept watch on a contrasting set of developments: gays beaten by demonstrators in Moscow, convicted on sodomy charges in Cameroon, targeted by sweeping anti-gay legislation in Nigeria.
Regions of concern include Africa, where many politicians engage in anti-gay rhetoric; Islamic countries where gay sex is illegal and sometimes punishable by death; and certain Eastern European countries where gay pride marches have been banned or targeted by harassment and violence.
Among the recent incidents:
• In Moscow, gay activists were pummeled by right-wing protesters and detained by police on May 27 when they tried to gather after the city banned a gay pride parade. Mayor Yuri Luzhkov says he will ban such parades as long as he holds office.
• In Cameroon, where gay sex is punishable by up to five years in prison, seven men were jailed more than a year before being convicted three weeks ago on sodomy charges. Human rights groups say the men were abused in prison and convicted despite lack of evidence.
• Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has proposed a bill that would criminalize same-sex relationships — imposing prison terms for not only for gays or lesbians who have sex, but also for organizers of gay rights groups and participants in same-sex marriage ceremonies.
• Rep. Barney Frank and five other members of Congress also protested the convictions and imprisonment of 11 men arrested in November at what police in the United Arab Emirates called a mass gay wedding. Initially, authorities said the men would be tested for male hormone levels and might face hormone injections, though these procedures did not occur.
• In Jamaica, which outlaws gay sex, gays are frequent targets of attacks and harassment. The Caribbean island's best-known gay activist was murdered in 2004 by an assailant wielding an ice pick; a gay man who counseled people with AIDS was shot dead last year.
• Iran is a constant concern to activists because of recurring reports of men being executed for gay sex. A pending Human Rights Watch investigation has verified that such executions occur, Long said, though it is difficult to gauge how frequently.
Full story here.
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