A South Korean activist at Los Angeles Pride. The sign reads “Shall I say I love you?” – Photo: InSapphoWeTrust / Flickr
A petition to ban an annual gay pride festival in Seoul, South Korea, has received over 200,000 signatures.
The petition was started on Blue House, South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s official website, on June 14th. It has since garnered support from traditionalists and religious groups, who are calling for an end to the “abominable” three-day Queer Culture Festival taking place this weekend in Seoul Plaza.
The festival, currently in its 19th year, will include art exhibitions, a film festival and the Seoul Queer Parade on Saturday, July 14.
According to Britain’s Telegraph, the petition says that they are not advocating “discriminating against sexual minorities,” but that the Plaza should not host the festival because it belongs “to all citizens.”
“We do not want to see their abominable events in a square where we should be able to rest and relax,” it reads. “Every year, queer-themed events such as street performances, drinking and smoking are called ‘cultural festivals,’ but they are just occasions filled with illegal acts and hypocrisy.”
The petition added: “Homosexuals and normal people should not engage in such perverse and obscene events in a plaza that is meant to be a space for citizens to relax. True human rights are not indulgences.”
While homosexuality is not illegal in South Korea, traditional Korean society disapproves of LGBTQ people and relationships. Same-sex marriages are also not considered legitimate by the government and committing homosexual acts while active in the military is an offense that carries up to one year in prison.
Russell T Davies, creator of the British TV series Queer as Folk and the current showrunner of the BBC phenom Doctor Who, says gay society is facing dire peril ever since the presidential election of Donald Trump in November, 2024.
"I'm not being alarmist," Davies told the British newspaper The Guardian. "I'm 61 years old. I know gay society very, very well, and I think we're in the greatest danger I have ever seen."
Davies said the rise in anti-LGBTQ hostility is not limited to the United States, where Trump has signed various anti-LGBTQ executive orders, many geared to diminish and seemingly eradicate the transgender community.
When I was 13, my father took me on a weekend trip to New York City. I remember sitting with him at the Howard Johnson's in Times Square, nibbling on fried clams, and somehow the question of homosexuals arose.
Now, I was an extremely closeted Cincinnati, Ohio, teen back then and had no inkling of the greater depths of my own sexual identity or of being gay in general. But I saw a few flamboyant men on the streets of New York in that summer of 1972 and asked dad about why they acted the way they did.
"They're homosexuals," he said. "They like men." He didn't offer further details.
Masked attackers in Israel are reportedly using Grindr to lure and entrap members of the LGBTQ community to severely harm them.
According to reports, the assailants are creating fake profiles on the popular dating app and arranging meetings in remote locations in the city of Haifa.
The victims are then ambushed and reportedly stabbed with sharp weapons. A few assailants have attempted to carry out lynchings.
The Aguda, an LGBTQ task force, documented at least ten such incidents in recent months, reports the Jerusalem Post.
But some victims have chosen not to report the attacks, making it more difficult for police to track down and arrest offenders.
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