Iran Defiant on Violating Rights of Women, Homosexuals

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TEHRAN, Iran (ChurchMilitant.com) - Iran continues to violate human rights, and many say Democrats continue to pander instead of confronting the issues.

Since 9/11, Democratic officials have been quick to defend Iran and Muslims in general, reluctant to use the term "Islamic terrorist." In light of recent events it has been demonstrated that this general policy has not changed.

Preferring Iran Over America

After President Trump ordered the airstrike that killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani and two senior Iraqi militia, members of Congress as well as Democratic presidential candidates offered predictable responses.

After giving quick lip service to the deeds and plans for America attributed to Soleimani, Joe Biden said, "The administration's statement says that its goal is to deter future attacks by Iran, but this action almost certainly will have the opposite effect."

Elizabeth Warren called Trump's decision a "reckless move" that "escalates the situation with Iran and increases the likelihood of more deaths and new Middle East conflict."

Tulsi Gabbard responded, "This was very clearly an act of war by this president without any kind of authorization or declaration of war from Congress, clearly violating the Constitution. It further escalates this tit for tat that's going on and on ... ."

Andrew Yang tweeted, "This decision highlights the need to get Donald Trump out of office. ... War with Iran is the last thing we need and is not the will of the American people."

New York Sen. Chuck Schumer also weighed in: "When the security of the nation is at stake, decisions must not be made in a vacuum. It is paramount for administrations to get an outside view to prevent groupthink."

Not to be outdone, Nancy Pelosi said in a recent statement:

The Trump Administration's provocative, escalatory and disproportionate military engagement continues to put servicemembers, diplomats and citizens of America and our allies in danger. This initiation of hostilities was taken without an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Iran, without the consultation of the Congress and without the articulation of a clear and legitimate strategy to either the Congress or the public.

Ignoring Women's Suffering

While the women of Iran risk their lives in civil protests, the National Organization for Women (NOW), the National Women's Law Center and the American Association of University Women — which push for Democrat-supported issues — are not talking about how to assist them or about the Iranian crackdown on social media. Their focus remains, rather, on American conservatives like Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, the so-called War on Women that restricts abortion to a child's first few months of prenatal life, or the "pay gap" between men and women that may or may not exist.

The Democrat-supported Women's March has ignored the plight of Iranian women risking their lives for, among other things, the right to go out in public without covering their heads. Instead, the U.S.-based feminist movement is again busy making plans for anti-Trump demonstrations while donning their signature pink hats.

"Where is the outcry from the Left when a female protestor in Iran is locked up for two years for daring to take off the head-covering she is forced to wear? ... Why won't Western feminists support them?" asks Shappi Khorsandi of The Independent. Silence on the matter does not make you "islamophobic," she concludes.

"The silent American feminist should be stewing in their own shame for not saying anything about this, for remaining silent, for basically saying that American oppression and Iranian oppression is the same thing," said Fox News' Greg Gutfeld, host of The Five.

Ignoring Homosexual Executions

Democrats have also been accused of pandering to the Iranian government, even after the country's foreign minister publicly endorsed the killing of homosexuals. The penalty for active homosexuality in the Islamic Republic is capital punishment, and in a recent press conference Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, publicly defended this.

Iran's mullahs have executed between 4,000–6,000 homosexuals since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, according to a 2008 British WikiLeaks dispatch. A homosexual man was publicly hanged last year in a high-profile case; yet activists in the United States who claim to be champions of the LGBT movement remain relatively silent. Today there are 13 countries where homosexual behavior is punishable by death.

The Catholic Church distinguishes between orientation and action, and hence avoids falling into the trap of presenting a false dichotomy of either condemning homosexuals or accepting homosexual behavior — which is the current paradigm being offered by Islamic countries like Iran and the secular West, respectively.

Sections 2357–2359 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church state that disordered desires are not sinful in themselves, but homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered. The Church recognizes the homosexual lifestyle is destructive to the soul, the family and civil society, but upholds the dignity of every person with same-sex attraction. Faithful Catholics advocate for all nations to inculcate this perspective, rejecting both state violence (such as in Iran) and state endorsement (as in Western nations).

While human rights violations in Iran remain front-page news, Democratic candidates may be directly confronted with related questions as they square off in their next presidential debate Tuesday night in Iowa.

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