Ruling upholds legality of same-sex pornography by Mike Andrew - SGN Staff Writer
A court in Istanbul, Turkey, said on February 18 that Gay sex is not 'unnatural' and therefore it is legal to sell porn depicting it.
Judge Mahmut Erdemli's decision contradicts a previous ruling by Turkey's Supreme Court that included Gay sex in the category of 'unnatural sex.'
The latest case involved a street vendor, identified only as DM, who was charged with violating Article 262/2 of the penal code prohibiting owning, trafficking, distributing, and publishing 'unnatural sex' videos. About 125 DVDs depicting Gay sex, some of it group scenes, were seized when DM was arrested.
If convicted, DM could have been sentenced to a maximum of four years in prison. Erdemli's decision that Gay sex is not unnatural meant that DM could only be convicted of selling 'unauthorized' videos, with a maximum sentence of eight months.
EVOLVING STANDARDS
'Today, it is possible to have Gay marriages in modern countries,' Erdemli is quoted in the newspaper HaberTürk.
'International regulations prohibit discrimination regarding peoples' sexual preference, and it is therefore an obligation to respect their sexual orientation ... In this respect, most of the European countries see Gay relationships as equivalent to marriage ... Contemporary societies allow [Gay relationships] to achieve this legal status and therefore the contents of the DVDs cannot be seen as unnatural.'
Last year, in a similar case involving porn videos, the criminal division of the Turkish Supreme Court found that Gay sex, any oral, anal, or group sex, BDSM, necrophilia, and bestiality were all 'unnatural' and in violation of Article 262/2. The court then set aside a six-month sentence imposed by a provincial court, saying it was too lenient.
In his ruling, Erdemli said Gay sex should be distinguished from necrophilia or bestiality, which he agreed were correctly classified as 'unnatural.'
'A POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT'
A spokesperson for Turkish LGBT rights group KAOS GL told Gay Star News, 'The decision given by the court yesterday is not binding. However it is a positive development that may affect a future ruling by Turkey's supreme court.
'Even if the Supreme Court will not accept this ruling, this sets a very positive precedent for future cases.'
Gay sex is not illegal in Turkey, but openly Gay people are not allowed to serve in the Turkish military, because military health regulations treat same-sex orientation as a 'psychosexual illness.' LGBT people may not adopt children and are not protected against discrimination in other areas of life.

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