Profiles in Posturing

A profile in courage, this isn’t: A group of 125 blowhard congressmen just sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry demanding action against antigay nations.

The lawmakers (one Republican, the rest Democrats) want action taken against nations that won’t grant visas to the samesex spouses of US foreignservice officers. Specifically, they’re asking State to deny visas to the spouses of diplomats from those countries.

Fine. But if these lawmakers were serious about standing up for gay rights — and human rights, generally — they’d have the guts to name the offending countries. Fat chance. New York Reps. Eliot Engel and Nita Lowey spearheaded the effort. Yet when we called, their spokesmen refused to name names. They’d only say that their bosses generally condemned antigay bias everywhere, and declined to specify which bigoted countries they had in mind.

The letter is about as milquetoast as it gets: Lawmakers “believe the State Department should take a proactive role in demonstrating America’s deep commitment to equality, dignity and diversity” and take action where “legalized forms of racism, sexism or other types of bias” occur. Not one example, though plenty abound:

Iran’s Islamic Penal Code states that sodomy is a capital punishment, punishable by death — and Tehran has carried out that sentence often.

Saudi Arabia routinely executed gays in the past, and continues to flog and imprison anyone who engages in homosexual acts.

The United Arab Emirates allows the death penalty for homosexuality, and routinely gives gays harsh prison sentences.

In Mauritania and Nigeria, too, gay sex can draw death sentences.

Why are Engel and Lowey reluctant to criticize these countries directly? Both hail from the left, and are “progressives” opposed to “judging” other cultures, even if lives are at stake. This is particularly true when it comes to Muslim nations that base their antigay, antiwomen views on fundamentalist interpretations of Sharia law.

So the pols close their eyes to horrific abuses of these groups abroad — even as they try to score points at home in politically correct, ineffective letters like the one they just sent Kerry.

Which makes these pols not just cowards — but hypocrites, too.