COMMENTARY: Barbaric Attackers of Lesbian in Nebraska Deserve Long Prison Sentences

This week, three masked men attacked a 33-year-old woman in her home in Lincoln, Nebraska, because she is a lesbian.

The attackers broke into the woman's home early last Sunday morning, stripped her naked, tied her hands and feet, and then carved anti-Lesbian slurs into her forehead, arms, and stomach with a knife.

The distraught woman managed to walk to a neighbor's house after the attackers had left.

She was treated at a hospital and then housed at an emergency shelter, and asked that her identity not be revealed.

The Lincoln Police Department has assigned several detectives to the case, in an effort to find the attackers and bring them to justice.

We believe that these barbaric attackers -- once they are arrested and tried in court -- should be given long-term prison sentences. The fact is that there is no excuse for such a savage act  -- especially in a civilized society.

Although we do not personally approve of a gay or lesbian lifestyle, we believe that every U.S. citizen has the right to choose his or her preferred lifestyle.

Indeed, to try to impose one's own lifestyle on another person -- and by means of barbaric violence no less -- violates the most important right that the the U.S. Constitution provides for every American.