In 71 countries, being queer makes you a criminal. In 11 of them, the punishment is death. Some countries differentiate between having gay sex and actually being gay, but the result is discrimination no matter the reasoning.
America’s religious right is clamoring for crackdowns on gender expression and LGBTQ rights similar to the laws enforced in less advanced countries. Some prominent Republicans and pastors have gone so far as to suggest America should be a theocracy like some countries on the list.
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Iran, parts of Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Brunei, Mauritania, Pakistan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates proscribe the death penalty for anyone proven to be homosexual.
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In a sign that times are changing quickly, however, it is legal for same-sex couples to wed in 30 countries. Chile became the latest country to legalize marriage equality; Switzerland will start recognizing same-sex marriages in July after a national referendum.
Countries where it is illegal to be LGBTQ:
- Afghanistan
- Algeria
- Antigua & Barbuda
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Brunei
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Chad
- Comoros
- Cook Islands
- Dominica
- Egypt
- Eritrea
- Eswatini
- Ethiopia
- Ghana
- Grenada
- Guinea
- Guyana
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Iraq
- Jamaica
- Kenya
- Kiribati
- Kuwait
- Lebanon
- Liberia
- Libya
- Malawi
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Morocco
- Myanmar
- Namibia
- Nigeria
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palestine
- Papua New Guinea
- Qatar
- Saint Kitts And Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent And The Grenadines
- Samoa
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Singapore
- Solomon Islands
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Sri Lanka
- Sudan
- Syria
- Tanzania
- The Gambia
- Togo
- Tonga
- Tunisia
- Turkmenistan
- Tuvalu
- Uganda
- United Arab Emirates
- Uzbekistan
- Yemen
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
