In which The Gay Recluse would laugh at government doublespeak (and the media’s reporting of the same) if it were in a novel instead of the real world.

Today Jeff Weinstein sent us the following quote from an article in The Times (of London) about the British government’s decision to reopen the asylum case of Iranian gay teenager Mehdi Kazemi, who faces execution in Iran (where they like to literally hang cocksuckers, instead of just metaphorically as in advanced countries such as Britain and the U.S.):

“The department’s own guidance concedes that Iran executes homosexuals but rejects the claim that there is a systematic repression of gay men and lesbians.”

Hilarious, right? At least — when taken in context — the development nevertheless bodes well for Mehdi Kazemi and all of the gays who have (justifiably) gone berserk on his behalf. But let’s remember: This could be the United States after John McCain dies and Mike Huckabee becomes president.

For more coverage of Iran and the gays, please check out our interview last fall with President Ahmadinejad in the wake of his speech at Columbia University (the one where he said gays “don’t exist” in Iran).