So now homosexuals not only demand the "right" to practise homosexuality,
but also the "right" to "come out" in Bangladesh, Malawi, Iran, etc!
And if these multicultural paradises don't grant that right then Australia should provide a haven from "persecution".

What sort of Australia are you trying to create?
A refuge for all the world's homosexuals?
Presumably they should not then be disallowed merely because they have AID's.
That would be heaping discrimination upon persecution.

<<Of course a person's right to be safely homosexual extends well beyond the right to seek out "discreet" homosexual sex>>
How far does that "right" extend? To homosexual marriage?
Should homosexual Australians be eligible for refugee status in Canada or the Netherlands because they are persecuted in Australia by not being allowed to marry?

<<Evidently, it is not enough to simply identify as homosexual; one must also pass a promiscuity test>>
If it was "enough to simply identify as homosexual" then anybody could "simply identify as homosexual" and they would have to be admitted on that basis.
Are you really that naive?

The <<farcical incompetence exhibited by the>> author makes me grateful that she is not in a position of power in the immigration department.
It also makes you wonder what passes for research and learning at universities these days.

The author says:

Last week a court in Malawi sentenced a gay couple who staged a same-sex wedding to 14 years in prison with hard labour for "violating the natural order".

(at least the Malawians 'get' it...NATURAL order)

Then she says:

The systemic homophobia and widespread persecution of gay and lesbian individuals across the globe is absolutely appalling.

To which I reply... "Hmmm.. perhaps it is Nina's attitude which is appalling?" Perhaps she is a lesbian ? a communist?

Then she says:

They need not have worried. Time and again the Australia Refugee Review Tribunal has proved itself to be breathtakingly obstinate and utterly insensitive towards those who apply for refugee status on the basis of their sexuality.

CORRECT INTEPRETATION of the ARRT's approach.

"For the benefit of the Australian cultural, social and religious balance, harmony and cohesian, the ARRT has diligently applied sound principle and protected Australia from an invasion of sexual devients who would otherwise have found a haven here"

Call em as you see em....I did.

ALGOREisRICH

You clearly don't understand what "natural" means. There are many documented accounts of homosexual activity in animals. Just because a particular activity is practised less often than another doesn't make it unnatural.

Communist? Lesbian? Neither attributes matter to the issue at hand.

The ARRT is not making the decisions based on those things that you mention.

On the matter of "sexual deviance" you would also be a deviant. Since most people - according to most published polls - are not opposed to homosexual marriage and would prefer to see them have "equal rights" it would seem that you too may deviate from the norm.

Hi there Twist(ed?)

The "natural order" is males/females reproducing.

If you don't see or get that, you need to get help.

Exceptions to the rule do not nullify the rule. (or the obvious)

Referring to polls is misleading at best. Opinion does not 'change' it is changed.. (Rodney Croome disagrees..that's why he attended a Gay Marriage debate recently in Hawthorn..because he believes it 'won't' change anything) duh.

Struth, I'm trying to juggle acrobats, Jesus, and gay asylum seekers in my head now.

If this keeps up, soon I'll be in an asylum myself.

P.S. I think I'd like to live in a world where there were no other humans. Sigh!

Nina Funnell: << The homophobia exhibited within Australian courts and the wider community illustrates that there is still much intolerance to overcome. >>

Absolutely. Anybody casting a cursory glance over any discussion at OLO relating to homosexuality can see just how true this statement is.

As a heterosexual man, I'm quite shocked at the amount of homosexual vilification that apparently still exists in Australian society. The amount of "poofter-bashing" that goes on at this site is appalling.

We still have a long way to go.