Rikers Island Closing "Gay Dorm"

Looks like the gay, lesbian, and transgender population at Rikers is gonna have to fend for itself, just like the rest of the inmates there. The prison had set up a unit specifically to keep gays safe back in the 70s, one of very few penitentiaries in the nation to do so.

Plans are in the works to replace it with a system that will protect any inmate who feels threatened, regardless of whether you're a habitual soap-dropper or not.

As to be expected, the usual suspects are asking officials at Rikers to reconsider the move:

People should not be punished for wanting to be safe.

(Read: Gay people should not be punished for wanting to be safe. That puny straight kid over there who constantly gets harassed and beaten after word got out that he raped his sister-in-law...? It's okay for him to be punished for wanting to be safe.)

Guess what folks. Prison isn't supposed to be a Sandals resort. Lots of people feel threatened, not just the gays. Imagine the time, effort, and money that would be needed to designate individual areas of the prison for certain ethnicities, beliefs, and orientations - just to keep everyone safe and happy. Why should homosexual ne'er-do-wells be the only ones to get their own room?

And let's not forget... there's always the option of not breaking the law to begin with.