‘You have no right to call yourself Armenian’ Say Gay Man’s Attackers

A gay man was assaulted and beaten last week while walking down the street at night in Yerevan. The man, 23-year-old Yerevan resident Vrezh “Max” Varzhapetyan, a gay rights activist and Right Side NGO staff member, told the Armenian Weekly that on the evening of February 11, three men pursued him down the street, shouting profanities and homophobic slurs. Before police could arrive, his assailants asked him if he was Armenian, and upon his response, beat him and threw him into the road. The men told him he had no right to call himself an Armenian and that he was not a man, but a “sister.” Varzhapetyan says he suffered a broken tooth and injuries to his mouth and nose.

23-year-old Vrezh “Max” Varzhapetyan (Photo retrieved from Facebook)

Despite surveillance cameras in the area, the assailants have not yet been apprehended. Since the incident, Varzhapetyan says he hasn’t learned much from the police investigation and that police officers have responded to him with vitriol. One investigating officer told him “gays are not allowed or loved in this country,” and that was why this happened in the first place. Authorities in Armenia have not responded to the Weekly’s inquiries about the investigation.

Unfortunately, Varzhapetyan joins a significant group of targeted LGBT victims. In February of 2018, a transgender woman was hospitalized after being brutally beaten up in her Yerevan apartment. The hate crime was widely believed to be a crackdown against an LGBT community member. Then, in August of 2018, a group of at least nine LGBT activists and residents of the village of Shurnukh were attacked by a mob of 30 people. Mamikon Hovsepyan, executive director of Pink (P)—Armenia’s leading LGBT organization—said Pink has been monitoring the incident in Shurnukh since it happened. Hovsepyan says he wants to see that justice is served and that his organization has retained a lawyer to re-open the case.

Max Varzhapetyan, pictured with injuries to his lip (photo provided by author)

“The Armenian government must once and for all take immediate steps to address the recent epidemic of violence targeting its LGBTQ citizens,” said Haig Boyadjian, president of the Gay and Lesbian Armenian Society (GALAS) in a statement to the Armenian Weekly following the attack on Varzhapetyan. GALAS is the most prominent LGBTQ organization in the US, serving the queer community of southern California and working in tandem with Pink. “We are deeply alarmed with the mysterious closing of the criminal case regarding the violent attacks against nine LGBTQ individuals last summer in the village of Shurnukh. The lack of action essentially condones and justifies future hate crimes against Armenia’s LGBTQ community. We are patiently waiting for Prime Minister Pashinyan to defend LGBTQ rights in the ‘New Armenia’ being forged and hope these senseless violent attacks will cease or at least be met with consequences under the law.”

For years, the Armenian government has failed to investigate anti-LGBT violence effectively. The criminal code does not recognize hate against the LGBT community as an aggravating criminal circumstance, and a government bill on equality does not include sexual orientation and gender identity as a ground for protection from discrimination.

In November 2018 ahead of the snap parliamentary elections, the European Forum of LGBT Christian Groups and the New Generation Humanitarian NGO (Yerevan, Armenia) were forced to cancel an upcoming forum in Yerevan. The organization issued a statement that included, “We are deeply distressed and disappointed that political violence, death threats, and vandalism directed at LGBTI people constitute a genuine threat to the safety of our participants.” Responding to these concerns, police feigned indifference. Armenia’s police chief Valeriy Osipyan told journalists the same day that he didn’t consider it “appropriate” to hold the forum in Armenia, “considering the risks and security considerations,” and advised that it be held elsewhere.

In a show of solidarity, LGBT activists in Armenia have spray-painted Max Varzhapetyan’s likeness on the sidewalks. (photo provided by author)

LGBT and other human rights activists are not optimistic about a systematic and institutionalized end to homophobia in Armenia. After the Velvet Revolution, there was hope in Armenia that a new era had begun devoid of corruption, oligarchy and brutality. Yet despite the sweeping changes triggered by the revolution, the situation for LGBT Armenians remains the same. Armenia’s new prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, has failed to take a strong position either way. In October 2018, when Parliament grilled him on the issue, he avoided giving a definitive answer. In his response to MP of the Tsarukyan faction Gevorg Petrosyan, who had earlier called on LGBT people to be expelled from Armenia, he said, “For me as Prime Minister and for our government, the less this issue comes up, the better.” He added, “It’s a headache.”

As for Varzhapetyan, he told the Weekly that he remains fearful, stating, “I just try to put myself together right now. I am scared to go out of my house because I think they live somewhere near…They had a dog and it was midnight so they were not coming from a far place to walk with a dog. Also I can’t do anything because of my teeth and head.”

“I want justice. I want to be fully recovered, and I don’t know how I’m gonna live after this. I had many violent attacks in my life. I even got my finger cut years ago, but this was completely hell because it was unexpected and I did nothing… I haven’t slept or eaten for four days already… I’m shaking right now and crying all this days.”

Homosexuality has been legal in Armenia since 2003, but there are no legal protections for LGBT Armenians. Armenia is ranked 49 out of 50 European countries when it comes to LGBTQ rights, only beating out Azerbaijan. Though marriage equality is not legal in Armenia, the country does recognize same-sex marriages performed abroad. However, no such recognition has yet been documented.

Vic Gerami
Vic Gerami is a journalist, media contributor and the editor & publisher of The Blunt Post. He spent six years at Frontiers Magazine, followed by LA Weekly and Voice Media Group. His syndicated celebrity Q&A column, 10 Questions with Vic, was a finalist for LA Press Club’s National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Award in 2017. He is also a contributor for The Advocate Magazine, Montrose Star, DC Life Magazine, Out & About Nashville, Q Virginia, GNI MAG, QNotes, WeHo Times, GoWeHo, Los Angeles Blade, Asbarez, California Courier, Desert Daily Guide, GED, The Pride LA, IN Magazine and Windy City Times.

64 Comments

    • Oh sister! When a car is broke you start with the priority. Like wheels gas etc… look around people are starving & we are making a big deal out of a sister beaten up..

    • Nazareth, there must be something deeply wrong with our country. You’re telling me that there is bigger problems in the world than a living, breathing, HUMAN BEING, just like you or I, being scared to walk on the street because he could get beaten up for being gay? For loving who he loves? What makes his life less valuable than yours?

    • i am saddened and dismayed by for the souls of those who were responsible in the beating of this young man because of his sexual orientation. they do not have the blood of armenia flowing through their veins or can appreciate our history as victims of violence, persecution and hatred. their dastardly act deserves arrest, prosecution and incarceration.

    • a nation that does not address nor guarantee the safety of all its citizens, allows for freedom of choice decisions with laws that protect minority members, preserves individual autonomy and embraces diversity can never aspire to claim itself a democratic country.

  1. My dismay and anger quadruples whenever I hear about such incidents perpetrated against our own people inside Armenia, simply because they are different from our holier-than-holy nation! I am assuming those in Armenia who disagree with these atrocities (which I am sure – and hope – there are) are too scared to raise an opinion lest they met with the same fate.

    Why are the police being so blasé about these incidents and no arrests and prosecutions are being made against these morons? What is the government – the new government – doing about these hate crimes; are they waiting for someone to actually get killed?

    My interactions via social media with those LGBT people living in Armenia reflect their state of fait accompli and submission to this situation that (they say) it will take another generation for things to change. This is very, very sad and what a waste of life for those who will live in hiding or be forced to lead a double life….

  2. Nazareth, brother! Is that a valid justification in your opinion to let these things happen just becasue there is starvation in the country? It IS a big deal when someone gets beaten up for being different! We want Armenia to be a world-class country inviting Western influx and investment and yet we cannot remove our own blindfold on human rights?

    • The criminal charge is Assoult with a deadly weapon (hands consider a wheapon, they can kill). Thats the charge in US even if someone attack another person and bit them up with even bear hands.

    • Ha “starvation?”
      Nazareth, Please at list use some other word. Half of the country drives BMW’S LoL…

    • What has the matter of starvation (?) got to do with hate crime? Beating someone up fills your bellies? Beating up a scared individual makes you a hero? My God, I never thought I would some day be ashamed of being Armenian.

    • Actually the Biblical account of the creation of Adam & Eve is not held to be taken as literally, so your point is null here but thanks for playing Julie! Next time if you can’t make a comment without resorting to stupid tired cliches how about not making one at all then, thanks.

    • Julie, God made them and let God to take care of all their problems. We are not God to judge people based on their lifestile.

    • I hope you will never have to deal with a gay person in your family, your son daughter grandchildren.
      No gay person chose to be gay.

    • And then billions of more people came after Adam and Eve and some of us are gay, even Armenians. Please mind the negligent use of such silly, religious phraseology to justify violence when it means nothing to you to sit at your keyboard and type these dumb words, when there are fellow Armenians like myself who have to overcome fear, violence and shame for being their authentic selves, even when I’ve done everything to support my own family and their transition to the US as one of the very first people in my family born here. I am not amot, violence against people like me and folks who condone it with bs ideology that can lead to violence like this is amot.

    • Ironic you support violence to those that are different than you yet consider yourself a Christian . I don’t remember the part of the Bible where Jesus beats Mary Magdelin but what do I know .. you’re the holy one.

  3. It saddens me that Armenia, already terribly lacking resources and allies, is so cruel to their own people. If we really want to change Armenia for the better, it has to become place where the full spectrum of Armenians can feel at home and contribute to society without such senseless discrimination.

  4. Unfortunately Armenian’s mentality in Armenia will never change. Men are very rude and women became very aggressive.
    For the last 100 years Armenians in Armenia leaved under communist party rules. They got brainwashed. Their God was Lenin. Where was the holly naition than? They even did not baptise their children at that time. They were discriminating Western Armenians who came back to live there after world war II because they were spiritual and they were belivers. They all run away as soon as these people had a chance.
    Some Armenians who came to US from Armenia they commit the same type of crimes. The jail population has lots of Armenians in US.
    Last year it came up on the news that three man including Armenian guy beat up black transgender person on the Hollywood Boulevard. Fortunately they got arrested and they had to face the law.(watch the news clip)
    In US if you have criminal felony record no one will hire you for a job. So this idiot messed up his record big time.

    I am sorry Max that you became a victim of the hate crime. You live amongs the hainas just be very careful. They could of kill you and people in your country will be even happier.
    You need a strong support. Don’t stay home and suffer silently it will kill you. You don’t deserve it. Find a good therapist whom you can trust. You need to heal yourself. It’s a shame that police are taking a side of criminals. If they put them in jail no one else will continue doing the same shit.
    We should send FBI to that coutry to investigate their police headquarters, the entire system is currapted. Armenian people live in illusion that they live in democrat country. It will take many centuries to change their mentality.

    https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013/06/24/21-year-old-man-charged-with-beating-transgender-woman-in-hollywood/

    https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2018/10/12/man-avoids-prison-brutal-2013-attack-transgender-woman-hollywood/

    • There are no words to describe the disgust I feel for those who call themselves “ARMENIAN” and commit such a dastardly act. Where are their morals, their common decency, their love of fellow man? Armenia has to start now making some major changes in their country. So, he’s gay; big deal. He’s a human being and worthier than his assailants to be called Armenian.

      These punks are most likely the many so called “men” who beat their wives on a daily basis. Let Armenia start doing something about domestic violence. This is the twenty first century and they’re nothing but a bunch of bullies. The police should start doing the right thing and bring these culprits to justice.

    • Seriously? You’re blaming the Soviet Union for Armenian homophobia? You do realize that the lack of religiosity would have reduced the homophobia in Armenia?

      This has everything to do with the Armenian Apostolic Church and its very rigid teachings on what constitutes a “good Armenian.” Being violent towards gays is not symptomatic of anything except the fact that a hyper religious society will inevitably result in a society that is full of people policing each other in the most toxic manner possible.

      This constant need to blame Armenia’s problems on the Soviet Union is incredibly bizarre and a symptom of a serious underlying problem in Armenian society. I have always maintained that we can’t blame others for what we suffer from, it will get us nowhere. If we are going to reform Armenian society in Armenia and the diaspora, we have to confront the Apostolic Church and let it understand that relationships and identities are more complex in the 21st century than they were even 75 years ago.

  5. Democracy is not only free voting right or no ballot stuffing or no corruption. Democracy is a noble target to achieve and implies to have a progressive society, open minded, tolerant a society in which freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom of being who are engraved like in a rock.

    In Democracy a majority can not oppress a minority !

  6. I call up on Armenian Weekly to spread this and other such incidents to all foreign companies in Armenia, especially fashion brands, and to ask them to get their businesses out of the country or to demand the government to take a clear position.

    Instead of focusing on what each and everyone of us could do to contribute to the economy or culture or any other sphere in our country, we focus on who is who and who is doing what and why.

    The attackers are terrorists and should be send to jail. Also their DNA should be tested to see if they (the attackers) are real Armenians, because a real Armenian, an Armenian citizen, cannot deliberately attack and hurt another Armenian citizen.

  7. Prime Minister Pashinyan has “his “hands full” dealing with trying to improve the financial lot of the people of Armenia. This whole issue with violence against those “born that way” is the responsibility of the church leadership. What does it reveal when Armenians both in the homeland and abroad are involved with such large amounts of criminal activities, yet nothing is done to protect those subjected to such violence? Is that what Jesus would do, assault people? Perhaps I donʻt understand our church leadership because I had only one Lousavorchagan grandparent, the other three being Armenian Uniate Catholics, who chose to raise us as Protestants. Sexual orientation is innate, in the genetic makeup, and therefore God given. Except for bisexuals, the only choice other than being sexually active for these persons is chastity.

  8. You guys are all dumb defending these type of people. Even though I am against this guy being assaulted, it should never be okay to accept the cancer LGBT movement in Armenia. And Armenia should never be westernized as one post said. Westernized culture will be the downfall of Armenia, we have to stick to our culture, values, and traditions as no other country really cares about us. And there are much bigger issues to worry about then this, as it’s not surprising the writer always publishes LGBT propaganda, whereas there are much bigger problems Armenians are facing, such as women rights, hostility with neighbors, immigration and economic opportunities.

    • First off, please don’t use cancer out of context; cancer is a debilitating and at times fatal disease that many are impacted by and is no adjective to just through around (in fact it’s not an adjective at all in this form). Second, gayness is not a western invention or concept. I challenge you to read about LGBTQ+ history in Armenia, maybe start with Armen Ohanian. You choose to sit in ignorance, you condone violence even if you say you don’t because you want to invisible and essentially ban people who are even born in Armenia and identify as LGBTQ+, and you make folks like myself fear visiting my homeland when I yearn to do so. Here’s an article to start with and then you can educate yourself through the wonderful resource that is google and your own hands and mind, apush: http://deararmen.com

    • Annette, its obviously you are incompetent of reading a sentence. I strictly said the LGBT movement, and not gay people overall, which I said I’m against for them being assaulted. The LGBT movement other hand should not be accepted, as one post below me explains how places like Canada and USA welcome people to choose their gender where biologically is incorrect. Look at how Canada passed a law that can punish parents for not raising their children in the child’s gender choice. Professors in USA can loss their jobs for even disagreeing with LGBT movement. And know suddenly people can be non-binary which means their neither male or female (sounds absolutely ridiculous). Its a domino effect that started once LGBT people decided that science and biology is irrelevant, and they choose whatever they want to be. Although gay people have been relevant throughout history, transgender is new, since recently we had technology for those kinds of surgeries. Just researching all this, you can see that its dangerous for this kind of movement to get any kind of momentum in Armenia, as we know most Armenians will never tolerate any kind of bullshit like allowing kids to chose their gender or punishing teachers for using pronouns that are not biologically correct. This is what I’m referring as the westernized movement. And when I said cancer, I was referring more to how the disease affects the body, just like how the LGBT movement can affect science and society. I have done enough research to understand that I feel sorry for people who have mental health problems like most LGBT people do according to psychology psychiatrist, but should we be allowing for these people to change science and biology in order for to feel better about themselves. And like I said, we have bigger problems then this like women rights, hostility with neighbors, immigration and economic opportunities that effect every Armenian. Apush!

  9. That AH who beat up this young man..should taste a real beating to taste his his (action’) fruit with a real beating !

  10. The AW is a Dashnak publication. Dashnaks claim to be very nationalistic. Yet their publication is promoting globo-homo. Is it any wonder that the ARF is a weak and unpopular party in Armenia?

  11. These comments are clearly coming from liberal progressives who have been brainwashed to believe that mental illness is a normal state of being. You need to drain your brain from the Globalist agenda to destroy society by attacking traditional sex, gender and family structures. This man who was beaten was beaten up because he was an agitator pushing for this Gloablist agenda. If you are gay, keep to yourself and know that you are not normal, no matter how many political and social figures say you are. Armenia must address the national security issue of foreign operatives in Armenia working towards altering the nation’s identity and security. Just because the U.S and Europe has complied with the Globalist order doesn’t mean that Armenia must be destroyed as well. Also, why arent the gay rights defenders speaking out against the attacks by gays on the police several months ago? hypocracy of the leftist mindless. Maybe it’s time to reconsider giving citizenship to Diasporans who are so far off the wagon that they believe they have some moral right to pursue a diabolical plan to destroy the moral fiber of Armeni.

    • To put it simply for all to understand –

      Armenians SHOULD NOT commit Pogroms or Genocide against other Armenians. The attitude of the police, the police chief and the comments from Armenian Movement above are out of line and dangerous.

      It should be remembered that the “globalists” and those in the diaspora rejoiced along side other Armenians and helped to create an international forum and voice for all to herald in the “velvet “revolution.

    • Buddy, YOU are not normal if you have such a grandiose sense of self as to disparage a whole group of people and act as if it is fact; apush, telling folks to “drain their brains” of an “agenda” when really, you are the one pushing an agenda of hate, ostracism, and exclusion of fellow Armenians around you; does that sound familiar to, I dunno, the basis behind the legitimization of genocidal campaigns? LGBTQ+ Armenians are born and bred in Armenia too, foozool! I am also proud to be “not normal,” if normal is the likes of you and your hateful and antiquated ideologies. Armenia’s national security is not at threat because of gays—are you kidding!! What, are we so damn attractive and alluring that all the straight people are gonna leave their families, leave their jobs and spend all their time worshipping us and thus not keeping society moving and flourishing? Armenia’s national security is at threat due to colonization by countries who neighbor Armenia and internal corruption and greed, as well as extreme levels of interpersonal violence that is condoned by “authorities.” Oh, and ignorant, violent rhetoric that talking heads like yourself promote. Open your eyes and shut your mouth!

  12. People need to be educated.. its ignorant to think that they choos to be gay..
    Being gay is as natural as being blond and blue eyed in Armenia… not common..

  13. Gay rights is a liberal agenda, just like abortions, to divide a nation. There’s not such issue or nationwide priority as gay rights. Gay righs, multiculturalism will destroy and replace armenian nation. Reduction of the population and replacement with the slave mentality masses who don’t know their history and uncontrollably mix is the goal.

    • Ok Somebody, first off, real brave name. A group of people who exist within Armenia (and have since time immemorial since the Armenian dynasty), are never an agenda. They’re a group of people that, like other groups of people, deserve to live a life free of violence. Y’all act as if gay is just a recent concept when gay folks have existed just as long as straight people, and more so, telling folks to not live their truths is more harmful for them and for the society at large than telling them to live a lie, start families with others they’ll never feel true love, admiration, attraction and by extension a sense of responsibility for and with, and then those families can be broken down as well. Life and let live apush, LGBTQ+ people are not the culprits of larger societal issues in Armenia. We know corruption, greed and continual conflict with neighboring countries are the biggest culprits. Stop scapegoating folks who have been there all along next to you throughout all of it.

  14. What special interest do you refer to? A special interest is particular to a specific thing that is not relevant to everyone and thus, it is “special.” Personally, I am Especially interested in living in a world where I don’t have fellow Armenians telling me I’m amot, or deserving of violence because I happen to be gay and Armenian. I put my family first for more than half my life as one of the first people born in the US and as their navigator to gain citizenship and understand US systems and didn’t tell them about my gay identity for fear that they would disown me and no longer have me to assist them, thus hurting my whole family. A nail in Armenia’s coffin are actual nails in coffins of people who are ostracized for being their authentic selves—THAT is what brings Armenia down, rhetoric that constructs binaries like liberal and conservative, and the violence such ridiculous constructs can enforce.

  15. The idiots who go around beating LGBT people are probably the same idiots beating their wives, apparently that is normal behaviour too according to all the bigots who posted when the debate about the subject was being discussed in Armenia. No one has the right to beat another person, when 3 or 4 men beat 1 individual, gay or straight they are cowards. let’s see if they would do it on their own.

  16. A lot of Armenians are not just against gay people but the LGBT movement, as watching Canada and some states from USA like Los angeles, it is clear that they are pushing their propaganda. In Canada, gender is considered a choice or someone can consider themselves neither Male or female. Professors get fired in Canada and USA by not following the pronouns that the individual prefers, even though it’s against biology. Parents could be prosecuted in Canada by forcing their grade school child to be a gender. I think its horrible that anyone gets assaulted in Armenia, but we should still be strick towards not allowing the LGBT movement reach Armenia, as it’s all just propaganda which is why people are so afraid to have conversations or be open minded towards gays. As a nation, we have to stick to our values, we have bigger problems to solve rather then this, like how women get treated or economic opportunities like one post previously said. Also you cannot force all of Armenians to accept and treat gays with respect since a high majority of men and women are against it. And for one morom who said that Armenians should withdraw their investments until the UN or government does something shows why many Armenians are against gay propaganda as it seems like it’s being forced down on people.

  17. Clearly this issue ignites moral panic, intolerance and homophobia in some people, who feel justified in making bigoted, irrational and hateful comments about people different from themselves. It’s a “globalist agenda”, “Western Liberal ideas” corrupting Armenia, we are told, by these self appointed guardians of the nation’s morality. If you want democracy, and a free society then all citizens have the right to live their lives free from violence and to express themselves. It is not against the law to be LGBT in Armenia. Sadly there are some men who think it’s okay to use violence against others, including women.
    If you want to create a more just society, then the law must be applied, without favour against the perpetrators of this violence. There will always be intolerant attitudes, but everyone must understand that hate and violence must never be condoned, no matter who it is against. Maybe education, time and activism can go some way in reducing this toxic intolerance.

  18. Lgbtq movement is all about lack of tolerance and hatered. It is akin fascism. It is all about relentless propaganda of homosexuality as a lifestyle. While a very small percentage of population are born that way, due to a propaganda quiet a lot of young people have simply embraced it because it is now “ok” to do so. Homosexuality is all about sexual deviancy. It is a mental disorder. And the more you engrossed in it the worse it becomes. Probably just like an addiction to porn. Lots of people in the west have also been sexually abused so for them this lifestyle is a natural outlet because they have been mentally damaged. This is not the case in Armenia. Nobody needs to get beaten up but tbis lifestyle should not be advertised as normal, especially to children and young adults because they think that it is simply ok. All damage to society starts with the endoctrination of the youth. No lgbtqabc propaganda in Armenia. This movement is not about the democracy but about the degradation of society. All the evils are nowadays passing as democracy. Armenia doesn’t need diaspora to tell its people what to do. Move out of the cities start farms develop agriculture. Globalization will destroy Armenia just like it has done to all the western countries.

  19. When I was in graduate school in psychology I learned that animals ( mammals) who live in societies ( like dogs or chimps or elephants) have a percentage of members who are “gay”or homosexual. This percentage remains constant and it a small percentage. God made these animals and God made us. Enough of this hate, especially from Armenians. And enough of this using God to justify acting out and hurting persons who are different and hold a different sexual orientation. God would never condone this type of behavior. Anger is a powerful instinct.It is comprised of sadness and fear; perhaps Armenians are projecting their anger leftover form the genocide onto people who are simply different.Learning to tolerate and accept differences in another human being is a sign of maturity, whether it be your marital partner or relatives or friends or strangers. I invite Armenians in Armenia to grow up and get educated. We, as Armenians certainly know what it is like to be ostracized and devalued because we were “different”. Shame on the persons who think they have a right to hurt another human being because he/she is different. If this violant behavior is accepted, than we are no different than the hateful Turks that murdered us. Be careful …acting out in this way is a result of ignorance and is indicative of underlying feelings of helpessness. Please, people, get educated and operate from a higher self. If we as Armenians want to be validated and recognized, then we must act in a manner that will encourage others to see us as honorable and honest persons. This type of discrimination and hateful behavior is not consistant with that. Shame and shame again on those persons who did this.I would never consider you to be a true Armenian.

  20. Brainwashed by Western liberals? There is a lot wrong with Western culture, but there is nothing wrong with being a progressive thinker and activist for the bare minimum basics of human rights for all of human kind. The future is no longer predominantly male nor will we stand for the injustice of others who lack knowledge, experience, and empathy for all people regardless of their sexual orientation or religious background. God or not. We are all here and we all deserve to be here.

    If you want to know who is brainwashing you, then take a look at people in power (predominantly white males or misogynistic men in general), religion, corrupt school systems, repeated history, and mass media. We brainwash ourselves. Take a moment to step outside your norm and get to know one another. Chances are that your prejudice are made up assumptions.

  21. Somewhat perplexing and concerning.
    There are serious issues facing Armenia and the Diaspora. There are very few comments, if any regarding articles on these issues. So far, 53 comments on this article, and I apologize for adding to it with mine. Here we have, probably and hopefully an isolated case ( we do not have any reliable statistic about the number or nature of crimes against LGBT people in Armenia). The sad reality is that there are more attacks on LGBT people in Western countries. It has nothing to do with “Western Culture” or liberal propaganda brainwashing.
    It is a question of acceptance, tolerance and equality. Live and let live.
    The laws of any country should protect every single citizen, period.

    Vart Adjemian

    • very well said vart, equality for all, no need to politicize a crime of any kind, i was in Yerevan recently and I came across more gays than I could ever imagine, may be they weren’t waving the rainbow flag, holding hands, and pushing cart with their newly adopted Chinese baby, but they can’t do that here either far outside west gaywood, and let’s not rush to stone Armenian society for being closed minded/hostile, there have been more heinous, sinister, crimes committed against LGBT right here, and not in the distant past

  22. Armenia is home for ALL Armenians.
    All means ALL.
    Those idiots who abused this poor Armenian MUST serve 10 years on the frontlines in Artsakh, where they can expose their bravery freely.
    What a SHAME.
    Once again, Armenia is the home for ALL Armenians, irrespective of their sexual orientation.

  23. People who traditionally hate gays, most probably are gays themselves.
    All those haters have some kind of “gay-dars” and are able to sniff out gays.
    John and the rest of the haters, come on out of the closet, we will not harm you at all.

  24. With all respect for everyone is feeling gay les and whatever they feel.
    It’s all about sexuality,nothing more,I love my male friends but… not to that point..anyway God made Adam and eve I agree.
    Steve came later because in wars there were no eve’s so they did improvise..
    I don’t hate the LGBT community. But I feel sorry. Always pray for them.if also I had one in my family!.it’s kind of inferior complex
    Though all of us have a sort of complex,!!
    Anyway whatever you are,wherever you are,be good to each other

  25. We cry and we cry for the Armenian genocide, yet we beat up our own citizens.. 1 word in armenian I learned… A M O T !

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