Greg in the Afternoon: Gays being killed in Iraq; Gay marriage foes revving up their bigotry

Greetings from the Palm Springs bureau of Greg In Hollywood.

I’m taking a few days of much-needed R&R at La Dolce Resort and Spa. I’ll still be posting only I’ll be doing it poolside. I plan on leaving the desert and heading back to LA before all the White Party madness starts this weekend. It’s just not my scene, never has been. But I hope everyone has a great time!

And aren’t we so fortunate to be able to have that good time openly. There are some horrible things happening to gays in Iraq right now that fly in the face of why America went to war there in the first place. The Iraqi citizens are supposed to have freedom.

The New York Tines reported today:

In the past two months, the bodies of as many as 25 boys and men suspected of being gay have turned up in the huge Shiite enclave of Sadr City the police and friends of the dead say. Most have been shot, some multiple times. Several have been found with the word “pervert” in Arabic on notes attached to their bodies, the police said.

“Three of my closest friends have been killed during the past two weeks alone,” said Basim, 23, a hairdresser. “They had been planning to go to a cafe away from Sadr City because we don’t feel safe here, but they killed them on the way. I had planned to go with them, but fortunately I didn’t.”

I found this quote from a police lieutenant particularly shocking: “Homosexuality is against the law,” said Lt. Muthana Shaad, at a police station in the Karada district, a neighborhood that has become popular with gay men. “And it’s disgusting…These people, we make sure they can’t get together in a coffee shop or walk together in the street — we make them break up.”

And this is the police. It is sickening.

Meanwhile, back at home, we’ve got our own anti-gay forces to deal with. While they are not calling for us to be killed, they don’t want us to get married. For some reason, this threatens them a lot more than it should. Bigoted Iowa State Rep Jim King is all in a lather because of the state Supreme Court’s decision to make same-sex marriage legal in that state.

Here is a panicked statement he released after the ruling:  “This is an unconstitutional ruling and another example of activist judges molding the Constitution to achieve their personal political ends. Iowa law says that marriage is between one man and one woman. If judges believe the Iowa legislature should grant same sex marriage, they should resign from their positions and run for office, not legislate from the bench Now it is the Iowa legislature’s responsibility to pass the Marriage Amendment to the Iowa Constitution, clarifying that marriage is between one man and one woman, to give the power that the Supreme Court has arrogated to itself back to the people of Iowa. Along with a constitutional amendment, the legislature must also enact marriage license residency requirements so that Iowa does not become the gay marriage Mecca due to the Supreme Court’s latest experiment in social engineering.”

And finally, there is that annoyingly perfect toothy motivational TV preacher Joel Osteen who weighed in on gay marriage during an appearance with his wife. He wants to stress that he’s not saying “gay people aren’t good people,” he just does not think we should be allowed to marry each other or adopt children.

On gay marriage: I just — it’s my desire that we keep the family unit, the basis of our society — I’d love to see it stay between a male and a female, not knocking anybody else. But I’m not sure where it’s all going.

On gay adoption: I like to shoot for God’s best, and that is a father and a mother in the home. It doesn’t always happen. I know a lot of people raised by single parents. And you know what? We bless them and pray for them as well. but I think God’s best is a male and female.

A full transcript of the exchange and video can be found on Towleroad.com.