ELDERLY GAY COUPLE BRUTALLY MURDERED IN THEIR HOME

The brutally murdered bodies of two elderly Indianapolis gay men were found inside their home by friends.

According to a WRTV Channel 6 report, Milton Lindgren, 70, and Eric Hendricks, 73, were found dead Monday morning. Police would not say how they were killed or how long their bodies had been inside the home, only that their deaths came by "violent means."

Police reports show that the men had their phone and cable lines cut twice in the past few months, and that anti-gay statements were posted on their front door. Investigators said that while they do believe the vandalism was related to Lindgren and Hendricks being gay, they didn't know if their killings were.

Patrick Beard, a friend of the victims, told 6News' Rick Hightower that he believed the men were targeted. Beard's son, Lee Beard, who also knew the victims, said,

"I'm not a genius, but if someone's being harassed like that and fagot gets stamped on their door on a piece of paper, it's not that hard to connect the dots two months later that these two people are brutally killed in their home."

Friends said Hendricks was ill and confined to a wheelchair.

This will not be investigated as a hate crime because Indiana doesn't have hate crime laws. Another glaring reason why we need federal hate crimes legislation passed. It would give local police more funds and federal manpower to help find the murder(s) and bring them to swift justice.

Unfortunately, violent crimes against gays have been steadily rising since the religious, right-wing fanatics stepped up their vitriolic, hate-filled, lying rhetoric against gays.

This has to stop before it escalates into something no one wants to see happen. Gays are no longer willing to sit idly by while their friends, neighbors, families and communities are verbally and physically attacked. We're not the quiet, timid, weak little mice that many macho heterosexuals want to believe we are. Just like in the straight community, there are extremist factions within our own community that, if pushed far enough and feel forced into a corner, will respond.

That's something we don't want to see. The surest way to abate this rapidly growing tension is if the other, more tolerant side of religious institutions, supportive politicians, business leaders and government legislatures make themselves heard very loudly and very clearly.