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Photographer Receives Death Threats For Pride Version Of Iwo Jima Flag Photo

One of the most iconic photographs to emerge from WWII was Joe Rosenthal's Pulitzer-winning shot of Marines hoisting an American flag on Iwo Jima.

But now, a photo inspired by that legendary image has led to death threats.

A decade ago, photographer Ed Freeman shot a group of gay men raising a Pride flag in a similar pose for Frontiers magazine. After Friday's Supreme Court ruling, it resurfaced and went viral.

"When I took this picture almost ten years ago, it never, never occurred to me that it would someday come to symbolize the victory we are celebrating today," Freeman wrote on Facebook. "Congratulations to all of us! Love to you all."

Related: Omaha Gay Couple's Pride Flag Stolen, Burned By Neighbor

Within days, though, Freeman started receiving hate messages on social media, as well as at least one death threat.

“[One man] said if he ever saw me, he’d kill me,” Freeman told The Washington Post. “I got swamped with vitriolic hate mail.”

On Facebook, a commenter wrote "Your [sic] a f**king disgrace this is wrong and disrespectful to the men who fought and died and the men who raised the flag at Iwo Jima. Your a piece of shit and need your ass beat for thinking this is ok. Go f**k yourself."

There are dozens of similar comments.

Related: Americans Are More Offended By Rainbow Flag Than Confederate Flag

Freeman says it was never his intention to equate the more than 6,000 American lives lost at Iwo Jima with the fight for same-sex marriage. "There is no equal sign here. This is not meant as a sign of disrespect. For God sake, no. I totally support people in uniform."

His detractors are simply "spoiling for a fight" because of the SCOTUS ruling, he believes. But they ain't seen nothing yet.

“One of them said, ‘Well, why don’t you have an astronaut planting a gay flag on the moon?’” Freeman revealed. “And I said, ‘Well, why not?"

h/t: Towleroad

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