Rainbows, drag shows, movies: Lebanon’s leaders go after perceived symbols of the LGBTQ+ community

By BASSEM MROUE and KAREEM CHEHAYEB
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — In recent weeks, Lebanon’s sharply divided political and religious leaders have come together to fight the LGBTQ+ community. The country that long showed a relative tolerance has seen a series of assaults on symbols associated with the community. The education minister barred a version of the game of Chutes and Ladders from schools because it had a rainbow on it. Christian vigilantes trashed a club where a drag show was held. It comes amid an escalating crackdown on the LGBTQ+ community underway elsewhere in the region. In Iraq, some lawmakers are pushing a proposal that would impose life in prison or the death penalty on those who have same-sex relations.