Medical tests to be used to keep gays out of Arabian Gulf states

Seems like the Russians aren't the only ones who don't welcome homosexuals into their countries. Sodomy and other homosexual acts [Please don't go on! Ed.] are unlawful in the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -– and their nationals presumably know better than to get caught packing fudge or whatever.

Homosexual acts can draw a long stretch in prison in states like Kuwait (10 years), or the death sentence in Yemen or Saudi Arabia. Walt is not sure if the sentence is carried out by beheading, but wouldn't be surprised. Serves the buggers right!

A problem arises, though, when gay foreigners enter the highly moral Arab countries, bringing with them their decadent Western ways and diseases. So, on the theory that it's better to deny them entry than have to behead them (with the attendant Western liberal pissing and moaning), the GCC are busily devising new means to detect members of the LGBT gang and keep them out of their countries.

Even as we speak, the Kuwaitis are developing a new medical test to separate the sheep from the goats. [There's something queer about that metaphor. Ed.] Yousouf Mindkar, the Director of Public Health at the Kuwaiti health ministry told the Kuwait newspaper Al Rai: "Health centres conduct the routine medical check to assess the health of the expatriates when they come into the GCC countries. However, we will take stricter measures that will help us detect gays who will be then barred from entering Kuwait or any of the GCC member states."

Mr. Mindkar did not give details of the "stricter measures". One shudders to think.

Lest you think that it's only the backward Muslims and homophobic Russkis who are resisting the Great Englightenment ("It's OK to be gay!"), Walt can confirm that it’s illegal to be gay in 78 countries. Lesbianism is banned in 49. Those figures are from the Daily Mail article which is the source of this story. I find them a bit confusing because I thought you had to be gay to be a lesbian, and vice versa, but I'm not up on the latest permutations and combinations.

In a totally unrelated story, of possible interest (only) to Walt's Canadian readers, John Greyson and Tarek Loubani are still detained in Egypt, which is one of the 78 countries mentioned above.