Uruguay's president: denying marriage to gay couples is 'torture'

Uruguay's president Jose "Pepe" Mujica grabbed some headlines when he said denying marriage to gay and lesbian couples was a form of torture. Mujica, who spent many years in prison for his affiliation with left-wing group, is becoming beloved internationally for his willingness to speak candidly (and quotably) on many issues. Under his watch Uruguay legalized marriage equality and adoption by gay parents, marijuana use and less restrictive abortion policies.

Roque Planas in Huffington Post Latino Voices, writes "In an interview with Brazilian news agency O Globo published Sunday, Mujica explained his administration’s logic.

“We applied a very simple principle: recognize the facts,” Mujica said, according to O Globo. “Gay marriage, please -- it’s older than the world. We had Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, please. To say it’s modern, come on, it’s older than we are. It’s an objective reality that it exists. For us, not legalizing it would be to torture people needlessly.”