Turkish Police Break Up LGBT Pride March With Tear Gas, Rubber Bullets

While America’s recent same-sex marriage ruling left a warm, fuzzy feeling in its wake, it’s worth remembering that LGBT people all over the world are still fighting a long, uphill battle for acceptance, equality and basic human dignity. 
For example, overnight, news broke that police in Turkey used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons to break up a pride march taking place in Istanbul’s Taksim Square. 
The square is frequently the location of rallies and protests, but per reports in USA Today, organisers of the pride event say that they were suddenly and without warning told that they would not be allowed to assemble there.
While homosexuality is not a crime in Turkey, as it is in many places around the Middle East, it is still a conservative country, and there are various “offenses against public morality” in the penal code, which are sometimes used to target LGBT people.
The march, considered to be the largest gay pride event in the Muslim world, coincided with the month of Ramadan this year, and organisers have speculated that this is likely to be the reason authorities cracked down.
Crowds were ordered to disperse as soon as they began assembling, and police used force to scatter them. One video from the scene shows a man standing his ground before being blasted with a water cannon: 

Another shows police firing on a participant: 

After being pushed out of Taksim Square, protesters regrouped a few streets away, and reports indicate that they continued without further incident, chanting “we are here, get used to it, we are not leaving” and “love wins.”

Photo: Ozan Kose via Getty Images

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