By Andrew Davis
The local LGBT-rights group known as the Gay Liberation Network (GLN) did its part in a global protest of Iran’s treatments of gays by staging a rally on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Monroe Street (in front of Millennium Park) on July 19. The date marked the one-year anniversary of the Middle Eastern country’s hanging of two gay teenagers, Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni, for allegedly engaging in sodomy.
Although the turnout was small, the group’s passion and impact were undeniable as members held signs along Michigan and held conversations with interested passers-by. Glenn Amoroso, a member of GLN, told Windy City Times that the group joined 20 other cities around the world ‘to bear testament to [what happened].’ However, he added that GLN hoped to shine a light on injustices perpetrated against gays and lesbians in the United States as well. ‘Even though we don’t have hangings, [unfairness] is done to us in other ways,’ he said. ‘ [For example,] that vote was just made on the Federal Marriage Amendment. It didn’t pass, but [the margin] was a lot slimmer than it was last year, which means that anti-gay sentiment is cranking up. We’re certainly still without all of our rights.’
On the same day as the rally, the Persian Lesbian and Gay Organization, Iran’s largest LGBT group, issued a statement of thanks to demonstrators around the world. In part, the group expressed its ‘appreciation and admiration for the united efforts of all the organizations, which support human rights and rights of the homosexuals around the world, in opposing the execution and the increase of pressure on sexual minorities in Iran.’