Same-Sex Rights Discussion

[Erektion]

Problem is that it's mainly the gays that are watching that video. It needs to be seen by all the community to understand the situation we're in. Please send it out to as many as possible, or post on facebook and ask people to share.
As for how he's coping? I have no idea. It's totally gut wrenching and heart breaking. How can something so wrong be acceptable? I just do not know

[MPJK]

Originally Posted by GaryinSydney

I think it is a depressing situation in terms of our government/political parties seemingly unable and unwilling to change the law to allow same-sex marriage.

---

My husband & I voted Green last time purely due to their stance on gay marriage - but never again! Gillard has not changed her stance unfortunately.

I will vote Liberal in the next election now, even though I hate Abbott and know he will not legislate for same-sex marriage. But knowing that Labor will also not effect change, economic pragmatism gets my vote from now on.

What a strange post.

You will NEVER get gay marriage if you vote for the Liberals in the next election whereas you MIGHT get gay marriage if you vote Labor. Which one is worse? As it stands, I would say the majority of Labor MPs currently would support gay marriage as you already have many prominent Labor parliamentarians already coming out in favour of it. Whereas how many Liberals have so far come out in favour? I could probably only count them on ONE hand.

We have a Labor government currently and they've already added gay marriage to their party platform, and there will be bills introduced this year regarding gay marriage. You would NEVER get this under a Liberal government. Have you even read how gays were treated under the Howard government? They haven't even been given a conscience vote on this issue!

If you actually want gay marriage yet you choose to vote for Abbott, then it won't come to this country for at least another decade. If that's the case, then I would ask you to stop complaining about "when will it finally come?!". You can't complain about lack of food if you decide to throw it away in the bin.

[Cristovão471]

Originally Posted by Leesome

Also. This:

wowowow what the fuck.

[jarf]

That video =

[GaryinSydney]

Originally Posted by MPJK

What a strange post.

You will NEVER get gay marriage if you vote for the Liberals in the next election whereas you MIGHT get gay marriage if you vote Labor. Which one is worse? As it stands, I would say the majority of Labor MPs currently would support gay marriage as you already have many prominent Labor parliamentarians already coming out in favour of it. Whereas how many Liberals have so far come out in favour? I could probably only count them on ONE hand.

We have a Labor government currently and they've already added gay marriage to their party platform, and there will be bills introduced this year regarding gay marriage. You would NEVER get this under a Liberal government. Have you even read how gays were treated under the Howard government? They haven't even been given a conscience vote on this issue!

If you actually want gay marriage yet you choose to vote for Abbott, then it won't come to this country for at least another decade. If that's the case, then I would ask you to stop complaining about "when will it finally come?!". You can't complain about lack of food if you decide to throw it away in the bin.

It's as simple as realising that Gillard makes me as sick as Abbott does (& not just on gay issues). Lobbying Liberals to allow a conscience vote is equally effective + the Tories in the UK are leading the way there and should inspire change here hopefully.

I don't believe change will come quicker under a Gillard or Rudd Govt than a Liberal one in fact. Plus, I cannot stand another period of Labor destroying our economy.

[GaryinSydney]

Must say, however, how appalled I was at Joe Hockey's disgusting comment at the end of Q&A last night regarding gay families.

Geez, there's no-one to vote for!

[acc521]

You're crazy if you think an Abbott led government will promote gay right more than a Gillard one. At least with Gillard there is a small chance.

Also I'm not the biggest Gillard fan trust me but I'd hardly say that Labour is ruining the economy.

[Levathian]

It was a Howard government (of which Abbott and co were a part!) which restricted the ability for the states to legalise gay rights.

If we want any chance of ever getting it legalised, we need a massive swing TO Labor at the next election so it has the chance of getting a majority vote.

But a Coalition government would probably repeal it if they got back in power though, just like the Newman govt has plans to scrap the previous Labor govts civil unions bill.

[Erektion]

I've been thinking about this quite a bit. It's almost safer for Labor to remain against equality with that vile Julia in charge and then lose. If Labor changes their stand before the next election and still most likely loses then it will be proof to the Libs that it's not worth a political move in the future.
Yes unfortunately it's sadly all about political point scoring as opposed to doing the right thing.
Basically I don't want to see a party lose an election based upon the backing of marriage equality. I assume she'll be out next anyway, and hopefully they'll have Wong in charge.

[Levathian]

Bear in mind in the future I imagine we will see a lot more of the KAP from QLD in federal parliament, if their state result is anything to go by, they'll gain a few more federal seats. And Katter HATES gays.

They came close to winning 5 seats in QLD but only got two.

[AtD]

^ If anything, KAP would be taking seats from the LNP, so if anything it'll help the LNP move left a tiny, tiny bit. It keeps some of the crazies out of the major parties.

[17 floors up]

Originally Posted by GaryinSydney

Plus, I cannot stand another period of Labor destroying our economy.

How are they doing that?

[GaryinSydney]

Originally Posted by 17 floors up

How are they doing that?

Don't wanna go off topic, but in a nutshell, I believe that they are about (selective) redistribution over pushing economic growth - ergo the stupid carbon tax, mining tax, Fair Work Australia etc being all anti-business.

[Erektion]

Yes off topic but I do agree it's more about distribution than actual growth. No point in distributing when there's nothing left and has been no growth.
Onto other matters. This is still very frightening...


By erektion at 2012-05-14

[Youngplanner]

That is so pathetic on Australia's part. When comparing to a lot of the western world that is.

[Mickeebee]

Originally Posted by Youngplanner

That is so pathetic on Australia's part. When comparing to a lot of the western world that is.

Yep...plain embarassing

[Erektion]

This upsets me greatly. I'm virtually in tears and the saddest thing is no one will do anything to help them. No one who can probably make a difference anyway. I'm devastated

Four Iranian men due to be hanged for sodomy
by Dan Littauer
12 May 2012, 1:49pm

According to Iranian human rights campaigners, over 4,000 lesbians and gay men have been executed since the Ayatollahs seized power in 1979.According to Iranian human rights campaigners, over 4,000 lesbians and gay men have been executed since the Ayatollahs seized power in 1979.

Iran court sentence four men from the town of Choram, in the Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, to death by hanging for sodomy.

Four men named ‘Saadat Arefi’, ‘Vahid Akbari’, ‘Javid Akbari’ and ‘Houshmand Akbari’ are due to be executed shortly after their verdict was approved recently by high court judges, according to a report from the Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) in Iran.

The four men are said to be from the town of Choram, in the Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province of Iran.

According to HRANA and JOOPEA, these four men will be hanged for sodomy according Shari’a law.

A gay activist based in Iran said: ‘Although being gay is not a crime based on Iranian criminal law but this is the most clear statement against same sex-acts in past months.’

He added that ‘there wereof our other men hanged in past five months.’

London based Iranian Human Rights Lawyer, Mehri Jafari said: ‘I am horrified and saddened to have heard the news about these four men. Not only with regards to the execution which is about to take place, but the fact that is beyond our control.

‘There are two important issues in this case; the location of the alleged occurrence and the interpretation of the Sharia’ law that a Hodud (strict Sharia punishment) is eminent. Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad is one of the most undeveloped provinces in Iran and it is obvious that a lack of access to lawyers and fair trial can be considered a serious issue in this case. After this announcement it is very likely that the execution will be carried out soon, and the remote location makes it difficult to exert any influence on the process.’

Mehri further pleaded: ‘I hope international organisations act quickly and effectively on this specific case.’

Gorji Marzban chairperson of the Austrian-based Oriental Queer Organization (ORQOA) said: ‘The recent death sentence for the four Iranian men is a shocking reality and demonstrates the discrepancy between Western and Islamic perception of queer life. The rhetoric of announcement makes the link between same-sex sexual activity, or sodomy with corporal punishment very clear. Last month the Iranian authorities hanged a young man and the local news agencies/authorities were intentionally unclear about the reason for the death penalty. In the case of these four men we have a clear text attributing the reason for hanging is sodomy.

‘The judicial denial of same-sex relationships in Iran stems from its relationship to Shari’a law and patriarchy. This is a warning signal not only for the queer population of Iran but also for all types of gender inclusive the heterosexuals who have sexual relations outside marriage.

‘The death penalty has failed to eradicate homosexuality from Iran but it was successful to force queer people into the closets. Sooner or later any Islamic community is obliged to integrate queer people. We believe that Iranians should gain more gender equality and rights and wholly condemn such an archaic sentence to murder which is inherently unislamic!’

Human Rights Watch (HRW) in its 2011 - We are a Buried Generation: Discrimination and Violence Against Sexual Minorities in Iran - stated that because trials on moral charges in Iran are usually held in closed sessions, it is difficult to determine what proportion of those charged and executed for same-sex conduct are gay and in what proportion the alleged offense was consensual.

Because of the lack of transparency, Human Rights Watch said: ‘It cannot be ruled out that Iran is sentencing sexual minorities who engage in consensual same-sex relations to death under the guise that they have committed forcible sodomy or rape.’

The issue of the death penalty for same-sex acts is further compounded by the fact that the Iranian legal code does not differentiate between rape and homosexual acts.

Furthermore, in many cases, it is often unclear whether the accused has actually committed a sexual act or it is a mere accusation based on some dispute. Even in the cases where the same-sex act has happened, often it is not clear whether the individuals involved are actually gay or it is an occasional act of sexual gratification.

Iranian Human Rights activists constantly note the fact that the two genders are strictly segregated increases the tendency for same-sex acts among the youth, in a phenomena that is also similarly known in single gender prisons. Indeed this phenomenon happens throughout highly segregated societies in the Middle East and North Africa.

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2012/05/12...ed-for-sodomy/

[acc521]

2012. Just sickening that this can happen anywhere in the world.

[ryan79]

People being killed for having gay sex or drug possession while terrorists might be unlucky to spend a short time in jail. The world is truly fucked.

[locbuuloc]

Originally Posted by Erektion

Yes off topic but I do agree it's more about distribution than actual growth. No point in distributing when there's nothing left and has been no growth.
Onto other matters. This is still very frightening...


By erektion at 2012-05-14

not sure where they get information from to create this map but I am sure there is no jail punishment for gay and les people VN. I notice many other countries fall into the same mislabel as well. Nothing to against the member posting this, just to share my opinion.