It might be easy to think that what happens in the Middle East does not affect people in the US, Europe or the UK, but this is far from the truth.

What happened in Lebanon to the people marching in the streets showed the rest of the community what to expect when hate nurtures horrific action in a tense political climate.

The situation in Lebanon is not simply a local problem, but it simply indicates wider anti-queer actions around the world. The director of the Lebanese LGBTQ+ organization Helem warned about it.

Lebanon has long been considered a relatively safe place for LGBTQ+ people compared to other countries in the Middle East, some of which punish homosexuality with capital punishment. But the comparative freedom enjoyed by the community has recently disappeared as politicians, religious extremists and vigilante groups have intensified their hostility towards these people trying to label them as moral degenerates and exclude them through censorship, threats of violence and legislative actions.

Three homophobic counter-acts have been presented in the local parliament, which seek to further criminalize homosexuality by implementing a "deviance" act

Hellem wanted the act to be "much more stable, politically far-sighted" to ensure it works in practice and does not have a negative impact on queer people in the long run.

This global culture war is most clearly illustrated in the US where there are hundreds of anti-LGTBQ+ acts. Such events can be observed in the United Kingdom, too, where there are mass protests against the community.