Iran: "Gays punished by lashing or death if proved that they have had homosexual relations."

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT: Despite Denials, Gays Insist They Exist, if Quietly, in Iran
By NAZILA FATHI
Published: September 30, 2007

....For a country that is said to have no homosexuality, Iran goes to great lengths to ban it. Gays are punished by lashing or death if it is proved that they have had homosexual relations. Two gay teenagers were executed in 2005 in Mashad, a northeastern city.

Fear of persecution is so strong that some gay men and lesbians have sought and received asylum in Western countries.

The Iranian Student News Agency reported in 2005 that a lesbian had been killed in prison by other inmates whom, it was alleged, she had forced to have sex with her. Tehran’s chief prosecutor, Saeed Mortazavi, said in May in an interview on state-run television that the police were looking for men who dressed and looked like homosexuals.

But Iran has also taken the unusual step of encouraging sex change operations for those with homosexual tendencies. While religious authorities here view homosexuality a clear sin, transsexuals are considered ill and in need of the help that such an operation can provide....

***

Gays say the key to living in Iran without government interference, even as couples, is keeping a low profile. Some have been arrested for looking “too feminine” but are generally fined and released....

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/world/middleeast/30gays.html?ref=todayspaper

[IndianaJones]

1. Well, thats a surprise. I was taking the insane little guy at his word on this one. nt.

[stuartrida]

2. That "there are no gays in Iran" comment was one of the dumbest things ever uttered by a President

Ahmadinejad gives Bush a run for his money

[mudesi]

4. Well, it's true

There are no gays in Iran. Because every one of them is murdered by the state.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

3. Their Respect For Transgendered Rights Is Admirable.

Their notion that gay men want to be women and gay women want to be men is deplorable.

[Kelly Rupert]

5. Their "respect" for transgendered rights is nothing of the sort.

They believe that transgenders and homosexuals are the same thing, and pressure homosexuals into undergoing gender-reassignment surgery to "fix" them.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

6. I Think I addressed that in my second sentence...

But there are men and women who believe their gender at birth is not consonant with their nature and they are good candidates for sexual reassignment... I think our society should learn to be tolerant of them as well...

[Kelly Rupert]

7. Indeed there are. But claiming those people are simply homosexuals

who require fixing is not respectful of them. You get to the right end point, but you get there for the wrong reason.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

9. I'm Confused... I Think We Are Debating On Parallel Tracks..

1) Thinking gay men want to be women and gay women want to be men is dumb

2) Assisting men and women who believe their gender is not consonant with their nature is laudable ,imho...

3) Many, but not all , transgnedered persons identify themselves as straight... Since they belive their gender is not consonant with their nature they feel they are attracted to members of the same sex as if they were members of the other sex...

[TankLV]

10. I don't know of any gay man that wants to become a woman, altho some do picture themselves as DIVAS.

but that's another subject...

[DemocratSinceBirth]

11. Of Course

But I know many transgendered women who like men and relate to them as if if they were born women...

[Benhurst]

8. Iran's position and record is terrible. Is that of Saudi Arabia -- so beloved by

the Bush Crime Family - any better? I guess it depends on whether one would rather be hanged or beheaded.