Ashamed Families Behind Killings of Gay Iraqis

(NEWSER) - Iraqi authorities have recovered the bodies of six gay men slain since sermons condemned homosexuality at prayer meetings in Sadr City, Reuters reports. "They were sexual deviants," said a Sadr City official. "Their tribes killed them to restore their family honor." Homosexuality is more common in the city since government forces wrested control from the Mehdi Army over the past year, residents say. More»

Government's unwillingness to protect gays points to a bleak future for all Iraqis

(NEWSER) - Iraq's militias have switched from slaughtering rivals to killing men they suspect of being homosexuals, and the Iraqi government is turning a blind eye, Rasha Moumneh writes in Foreign Policy. Gay men have been kidnapped, tortured, and murdered in rising numbers since the start of this year, but not a single arrest has been made. One UN worker estimates that the body count is well into the hundreds. More»

Officials, human rights groups dispute extent of escalating violence

(NEWSER) - Gays in Iraq are the targets of increasing violence by militias, police, and religious extremists, a largely unreported consequence of the 2003 US invasion. A fatwa is in place, reports the Chicago Tribune, and gays are fighting to emigrate to Sweden, Germany, and other countries. Recent reports by the UN and the US State Department have documented the brutality. More»

Dr. Robert Spitzer apologizes for study supporting 'gay cure' therapy

(NEWSER) - A psychiatrist who revolutionized how people view homosexuality has given a tearful apology for a study that supported the notion of a "gay cure." The New York Times looks at how Dr. Robert Spitzer conducted his study, withstood years of merciless criticism, and, suffering from Parkinson’s, finally wrote his mea culpa. "You know, it’s the only regret I have; the only professional one,” he said. More»

'My private life is private,' says actor

(NEWSER) - People can talk all they want, says George Clooney, even to call him gay. Despite his serial babe romances, some have speculated for years about Clooney's real sexual orientation. “I think it’s funny, but the last thing you’ll ever see me do is jump up and down, saying, ‘These are lies!’ That would be unfair and unkind to my good friends in the gay community," Clooney tells the Advocate . "I’m not going to let anyone make it seem like being gay is a bad thing. My private life is private, and I’m very happy in it." He adds: “Who does it hurt if someone thinks I’m gay? I’ll be long dead and there will still be people who say I was gay. I don’t give a..." More»