Leader of Arab World's Only Gay Pride Week Says He Was Arrested For 'Incitement to Immorality'

Brittany M. Hughes | May 17, 2018
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Pay attention, liberals: THIS is what discrimination looks like.

The leader of the Arab world’s first and only gay pride week said he was arrested, detained and made to sign a pledge cancelling the entire event for "incitement to immorality."

This is only the second time that Beruit Pride, a week-long LGBT celebration and the only such event in any Arab nation, has been held in Lebanon. But according to the BBC, Hadi Damien, organizer of Beruit Pride in Lebanon, says he got a phone call this year from a venue saying that with the General Security directorate had shown up and halted a reading of a play script that detailed homophobic crimes, saying they needed a permit form the Bureau of Censorship.

The BBC continues:

After arriving at the venue, Mr Damien was asked by "vice police" officers to accompany him to Hbeich police station, where he was informed that he would be detained overnight.

Mr Damien said he was warned that if he did not he would be referred to an investigative judge who would "interrogate me on the basis of articles pertaining to the incitement to immorality and to the breach of public morality for co-ordinating the activities".

He later told the BBC: "There's a lot of disappointment around the cancellation of Beirut pride. People first are concerned anticipating any upcoming crackdown."

(By the way, Israel - that horrible country that hates everyone and has the audacity to shoot down terrorists who try to invade their country? Yeah, they've had an open gay pride festival for years.)

Just in case anyone’s not clear, here: this is bigotry. Government officials showing up and demanding on threat of violence and jail that you cancel your gay pride event because you’re violating their anti-gay censorship rules is discrimination.

A Christian grandma saying she’s not comfortable arranging your wedding peonies and referring you to another florist is not.

Everyone clear?

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