The four - Saadat Arefi,  Vahid Akbari, Javid Akbari and Houshmad Akbari - are reportedly from Choram, a town in the southwestern province of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad.

The European gay news service Pink News quotes London-based human rights lawyer Mehri Jafari as saying that the province's remote location makes it challenging to exercise any influence on the situation. "Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad is one of the most undeveloped provinces in Iran and it is obvious that a lack of access to lawyers and fair trial can be considered a serious issue in this case," Jafari said."After this announcement it is very likely that the execution will be carried out soon."

A December 2011 Human Rights Watch report "We Are A Buried Generation" notes that the Iranian penal code's definition of sodomy includes both consensual and coerced sex between two men. If both men are "mature" and sex is consensual, the sentence is death. Punishment for sex between women is 100 lashes for the first three offenses and the death penalty for the fourth. 

In many cases, it's not clear whether those accused of sodomy are gay or had sexual relations. Very often queer Iranians are prosecuted on false charges of rape and other offenses to justify their executions, making it next to impossible to accurately determine the number of queer people who are executed, tortured or imprisoned, according to a new report by London-based non-profit, Small Media. Official records of how many queer Iranians have been executed are non-existent. Unofficially, estimates run from 400 to 5,000, "with no way of knowing which of these is closer to the truth," states LGBT Republic of Iran.

 No surprise considering the infamous September 2007 declaration of the country's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that there were no gays in Iran.

The 150-page report, launched today in London on the eve of International  Day Against Homophobia, documents the experiences of queer Iranians who live or have lived under the homophobic Tehran regime and the pivotal role of the internet in helping them build community within the country, become more aware of queer life in other countries and circumvent the government's attempts to crack down on freedom of expression online and off. 

BY ROB SALERNO - Despite my cheeky headline from a couple of days ago, it appears that US President Obama's statement in support of equal marriage is actually paying off in some jurisdictions with state leaders coming out in favour of marriage equality.

Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee signed an executive order obliging the state to recognize gay marriages performed out-of-state for all official purposes. Rhode Island's legislature decided not to legalize same-sex marriage last year, opting instead for civil unions. The executive order gives Rhode Island gay couples who wed in any of the nearby states that perform same-sex marriages will enjoy new rights in health and life insurance, parenting, and property ownership.

And Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has announced his support for equal marriage at a time when the legislature is considering just such a bill. After Iowa, it would be the second state in the midwest to legalize same-sex marriage.

But in some parts of the States, it seems Obama's annoucement has also gotten opponents' backs up. After three committees of the Colorado legislature voted to enact same-sex civil unions and the state's governor even recalled the legislature to a special session to deal with the issue before it breaks, state Republicans killed the initiative.

And in Nebraska, activists are already working to kill the City of Lincoln's recently passed anti-discrimination ordinance.

Meanwhile, at least one other foreign kingdom has joined the push for marriage equality in the wake of Obama's announcement: The Magic Kingdom. Specifically, Tokyo Disney.

Staffers at Tokyo Disney Resort recently allowed a lesbian couple to wed on the grounds. Is it time for Cogsworth and Lumiere to finally tie the knot? How about Timone and Pumba? Gay marriage remains unrecognized in Japan. 

BY ADAM M GLEN - He's won countless awards. He's married to the most beautiful woman on the planet. He's a hip-hop icon. He supports marriage equality.

 

Shawn Carter, better known as Jay-Z, stated in a recent interview with CNN that opposition to same-sex marriage is "holding America back." He added "What people do in their own homes is their business, and you can choose to love whoever you love. That's their business. It is no different than discriminating against blacks." As for President Barack Obama's endorsement of same-sex marriage, Carter believes it's less about votes and more about humanity. "I think it was the right thing to do. Whether it costs him votes or not. It's really not about votes, it's about people."

Unfortunately, not everyone is as enlightened as Jay-Z. A point proven by a teacher in Scranton, Pennsylvania, who recorded Hanover Area High School senior Jared Swank with his transgendered female prom-date, then showed the video to her class the following Monday. The video received negative and discriminatory comments from students at the school, which is no surprise to Swank's mother Dawn Mendygral. "It hurt him. He was embarrassed. He was chastised. As a matter of fact, we just came from the gas station to get a drink before we got here and some Hanover Area students yelled out the window 'faggot'." Officials from the school board were confronted at a meeting by many parents who claim bullying is a huge problem. They have promised to launch a full investigation into the incident.

BY ROB SALERNO - In the wake of US President Obama's historic announcement that he's now supportive of equal marriage for gay and lesbian couples, world leaders are crawling out of the woodwork to announce their own support for gay marriage. 

First, Cuban president Raul Castro's daughter announced that the Cuban regime may soon legalize gay marriage.

Then New Zealand's prime minister John Key announced his own support for gay marriage. The announcement means that the three main parties in the New Zealand parliament support gay marriage, and Key has suggested the government could soon consider a private member's bill from the opposition on the subject.

Now Croatia's president Zoran Milanovic has announced that the government will soon be introducing legislation to allow for gay marriage. If passed, it would be the first country in Eastern Europe and the first Slavic country to legalize gay marriage.

We're even seeing other presidents take up the cause in foreign countries directly. Argentine president Cristina Kirchner -- who introduced that country's same-sex marriage law in 2009 -- recently wrote to Australian PM Julia Gillard to ask her to reconsider her opposition to same-sex marriage. Gillard's so far refusing to bow to pressure. Unfortunately, Argentina doesn't have a great track record of fighting British colonies. 

It's enough to have Newsweek figuratively crown Obama as America's "first gay president," which is a remarkable achievement, given that his annoucement hasn't actually had any direct consequences in America. 

BY ROB SALERNO - Mariela Castro, the daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro, says that Cuba could pass a same-sex marriage law this year, given legislation currently under consideration in the national parliament.

Mariela Castro is the country's premier sexologist and has long been a vocal advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans rights in Cuba. She'd like the country to go even further than gay marriage and pass a law similar to one Argentina passed last week, which gives trans people the right to change their sex on their official documents. 

Meanwhile, across the pond, it appears that UK Prime Minister David Cameron has quietly dropped plans to legalize gay marriage in that country by 2015, following stiff opposition from his own backbench MPs and the Catholic lobby. While the Home Office is still "consulting" on the issue, according to its website, it seems Cameron is planning to stop talking about it altogether. Even this week's throne speech didn't include any mention of it.