Dying for Love, Literally

Being gay in the United States isn't easy, but it's getting better. But there are places where being gay is deadly. In Iran, two gay young men were executed because they had sex with each other. It seems that members of Iran's parliment are aghast that the rest of the world is so upset at them. They think they should be congratulated. So says one legislator:

"Instead of paying tribute to the action of the judiciary, the media are mentioning the age of the hanged criminals and creating a commotion that harms the interests of the state," said ultraconservative deputy Ali Asgari in a quote published by Iran Focus.

"Even if certain Web sites made a reference to their age, journalists should not pursue this. These individuals were corrupt. Their sentence was carried out with the approval of the judiciary, and it served them right," he said.

They didn't steal anything. They didn't murder. They were accused of rape, but many think this was trumped up. And yet, they were considered "criminals."

This is the sign of a backwards state and they are far from being a democracy. Real democracies don't kill citizens because of who they love.

You can see photos of the hanging here.

Barbaric. Just truly barbaric.



Update:Log Cabin Republicans issued a press release on Tuesday condemning the execution.