Bangladesh police arrest 27 youths over homosexuality

I just don't understand why conservatives and religious types get so het up over people's sexual preferences.

This RAB sound pretty ramshackle to me. One would think they'd have more important stuff to do than harass people at a party.

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), an elite security force, said it had raided a community centre south of the capital Dhaka where the men had gathered

The Rapid Action Batallion elite security force, eh? Sounds pretty intimidating. I wonder if they've been deployed to round up the filthy, backward, religious savages in Bangladesh who enjoy hacking innocent people to death with machetes.

That would seem more in keeping with their impressive name.

Not just Gay and Lesbian, also atheist bloggers are being killed and so on.

This is what theocracy brings you folks, reject it always.

One wonders about folks with strong "religious" convictions. If their "faith" is so strong why do they feel so threatened by LGBT people and atheists?

Unfortunately this sort of crackdown is happening all too often in the Islamic world.

I believe that homosexuality is morally wrong, however the state has no place in legislating what consenting adults choose to do behind closed doors.

Akula... Morally wrong? what does that even mean?

Why closed door, not gay myself but if I can hold my wife hand can a gay person not hold their partners hand for example?

At least you agree the state has no place putting these restrictions on adults.

I believe that homosexuality is morally wrong

Pardon my ignorance but what does that mean/entail?

I think Akula's comment is the best we can hope for. Bigotry towards homosexuals is contained in the books of the monotheistic faiths and it can't be simply torn out, but religion can and must be domesticated to the point where these ideas don't infringe on the rights and freedoms of others.

Bigotry towards homosexuals is contained in the books of the monotheistic faiths and it can't be simply torn out

Maybe Jimizo, maybe not. Doesn't the Bible (for example) condone slavery? If that abhorent idea can be relegated to the dustbins of history, surely the archaic views on homosexuals can, too?

but religion can and must be domesticated to the point where these ideas don't infringe on the rights and freedoms of others.

In complete agreement with this sentiment.

One of the reasons why I gave up christianity nearly 40yrs ago.

Buddhism has no god/gods or commandments that force a way of living/thought onto us.

Zen is a mixture of 2 religions buddhism and taoism hence not true buddhism.

Maybe Jimizo, maybe not. Doesn't the Bible (for example) condone slavery? If that abhorent idea can be relegated to the dustbins of history, surely the archaic views on homosexuals can, too?

I don't know about the dustbin. I think it could be just temporary. As long as those verses are in the books, they remain dangerous. The west has done a pretty good job of containing religion but there is no reason why given the right circumstances, people could return to the kind of religiosity in which slavery can be justified by these books. Dormant rather than discarded.

Speaking for now, I hope Muslim majority countries in particular can get away from some of the barbaric ideas in the scriptures, but that is very difficult as questioning these ideas can often lead to awful punishments. Punishments as bad as the ones handed out to homosexuals.

Speaking for now, I hope Muslim majority countries in particular can get away from some of the barbaric ideas in the scriptures, but that is very difficult as questioning these ideas can often lead to awful punishments. Punishments as bad as the ones handed out to homosexuals.

Let's hope. I feel that the group mentality or collective mass hysteria stifles individual thought, or rather, the chances for individuals to break away from the herd and question suspect ideologies. Of course, everything is open to interpretation - but the problem is that too often, those doing the interpreting tend to be male and very conservative.

When I read ugly stories like the article I really despair.

i understand that is is the law of the country. But if they were not engaged in a same sex act, witnessed by others, how can they be arrested for the crime of being gay. What if you were staff or a cleaner or a taxi driver there, you would be accused to.

As long as rape is not involved, they're nosing around (and wasting precious resources and manpower) trying to harass people they really need to leave the #$%# alone to go about their lives.

"How dare they attempt to to make me realize my deepest and darkest insecurities.

As long as rape is not involved,

Yeah, because that's what the gays do apparently.