Roughly 24 hours after attacking Christianity as contributing to the Orlando terror attack on the gay night club, Wednesday’s CBS Evening News did their due diligence in devoting a full segment to how a slew of Islamic countries punish anyone who is or suspected of being gay with death.
Anchor Scott Pelley began the report by already covering for the region and religion by maintaining that “violence against the LGBT community is common” even though nearly everyone has viewed what transpired in Orlando “[a]s shocking.”
“Some Islamic countries impose the death penalty for homosexuality, but none of them compare to the depravity of ISIS. The first images in Holly Williams story are honest but troubling to watch,” Pelley warned.
Pelley’s warning was indeed correct as foreign correspondent Holly Williams aired footage of ISIS throwing gay men off of buildings and being stoned to death as she explained that such atrocities are showcased in “ISIS propaganda videos like this one show men accused of having sex with other men executed in typically barbaric fashion.”
Williams, who has a very admirable track record of fair reporting, made clear that “it's not just under ISIS that gay and lesbian people face the death penalty” but “[s]ame-sex sexual relations are illegal in more than 70 countries, but only in seven predominantly Muslim states can you be sentenced to death for it.”
After interviewing a man who fled Iran successfully despite being beaten for handing out pro-gay flyers, Williams invoked Turkey as an exception for Muslim countries but has not spread elsewhere:
Not all Muslim societies are intolerant of homosexuality. Here in Turkey, which is majority Muslim, gay sex was legalized in 1858. That's nearly 150 years before it finally became legal in all American states. Both the Koran and the Bible condemn homosexuality, according to some interpretations, but as the West has become more tolerant when it comes to sexuality, it sparked a culture clash with many conservative Muslims.
At the end of the day, it’s highly doubtful that ABC or NBC would go the distance and attempt to replicate this story by CBS that would only further anger the apologetic left (as they’re too busy blaming Republicans and the National Rifle Association for terror attacks).
The transcript of the segment from the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley on June 15 can be found below.
CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley
June 15, 2016
6:36 p.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Illegal to Be Gay]
SCOTT PELLEY: As shocking as the attack in Orlando is, violence against the LGBT community is common, even sanctioned in some parts of the world. Some Islamic countries impose the death penalty for homosexuality, but none of them compare to the depravity of ISIS. The first images in Holly Williams story are honest but troubling to watch.
[VIDEO OF GAY MEN BEING THROWN OFF BUILDINGS]
HOLLY WILLIAMS: ISIS propaganda videos like this one show men accused of having sex with other men executed in typically barbaric fashion and it's not just under ISIS that gay and lesbian people face the death penalty. Same-sex sexual relations are illegal in more than 70 countries, but only in seven predominantly Muslim states can you be sentenced to death for it. Ramtin Ebrahimipour told us he fled Iran last year after spending three months in prison for handing out leaflets against homophobia. “They beat me. They tried to suffocate me with a pillow, and they stuck their shoes in my mouth,” he said. Not all Muslim societies are intolerant of homosexuality. Here in Turkey, which is majority Muslim, gay sex was legalized in 1858. That's nearly 150 years before it finally became legal in all American states. Both the Koran and the Bible condemn homosexuality, according to some interpretations, but as the West has become more tolerant when it comes to sexuality, it sparked a culture clash with many conservative Muslims. The massacre in Orlando has been praised by ISIS and its supporters, but, Scott, at this point, there's no indication that the shooter had any contact with the group or its leaders in the Middle East.
PELLEY: Holly Williams reporting from Istanbul for us tonight. Holly, thank you.
