Kirsty Bosley: A proud step forward, now the USA must reconsider other laws

For example, I love US TV dramas, big Hollywood movies, Taylor Swift and Jack Daniels. But I hate their gun laws, the way that black people are still treated by some authorities and how they say aluminium incorrectly. Violent, massive swings and roundabouts, as different as stars and stripes.

This week was an extraordinary week for the land of the free and the home of the brave. In the best news I've heard in absolutely ages and ages, the USA lit up in technicolour when the Supreme Court legalised gay marriage in all 50 states.Rainbow flags of Pride flew all around the world as Americans that had been living together in love for years could finally join in legal union. What a time to be alive!

I was delirious with delight when the news broke. Observing the celebrations filled me up like a balloon – especially seeing one of my favourite stars of the big screen, Sir Ian McKellen, and actor/stage director Derek Jacobi celebrating at New York Pride.

The pair were clearly overjoyed as they took their roles of grand marshals and partied in the streets. They kissed revellers, one another and had an absolute ball; it was wonderful to see.

In a week when the news has been filled with so much sadness, grief and heartache, this celebration of love and togetherness was so welcome. Although the law should have changed years ago, I'm delighted for all of the people whose lives are made infinitely better by this long overdue freedom.

That includes my own life – a straight woman in a country 4,000 miles away. Regardless of our sexual orientation, all of us, as humans, should celebrate and welcome this victory for equality. Because surely we all want to live in a world where we can marry the person we love no matter their gender?

Twenty six million people changed their Facebook profile picture to include a rainbow filter. It's a small gesture that online sceptics might see as being pointless, but this mass display of pride really made me feel, well . . . proud.

With all of the excitement, it's easy to forget that the fight for LGBT rights is far from over. There are still more than 75 countries in which homosexuality is illegal, and eight where intimate acts with a same sex person could result in death penalty.

There are loads of things to bemoan in the UK, but at least we're not going to be sentenced to die simply for being ourselves.

And that's one of the things I really hate about America – the other end of the spectrum. There are only 19 states in the US that have abolished the death penalty, and it's just not enough. In the last 20 years there have been two dozen well-known botched executions according to the death penalty information centre.

Last year, Clayton Lockett – a man convicted of shooting and burying alive a 19-year-old girl – was strapped to a gurney to receive the lethal injection. It took 43 minutes for Lockett to die, rather than the usual 10. He did not simply pass away quietly, instead writhing, kicking his legs and gasping in agony. An inexperienced nurse trying to locate a spot to inject the lethal drugs repeatedly punctured his femoral vein. The drugs were not injected directly into his blood stream, and so death was not swift when it came.

I know the argument here. Lockett did not offer a quiet, easy death to his victim either. But by killing him, the state of Oklahoma reduced itself to little more than killers, torturing someone to death and claiming it was justice. How is that just?

At the heart of the botched execution was the sedative midazolam. A lethal injection normally includes three drugs – an anaesthetic, a paralytic and potassium chloride to stop the heart. Midazolam is largely untested for use in executions but on Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that the use of the drugs was constitutional.

In January, Charles Warner was executed with the same cocktail in Oklahoma. He was convicted in 1997 of the sexual assault and murder of an 11-month old girl. As he lay on the gurney, he stated 'my body is on fire'. It took him 18 minutes to die.

In my mind, two wrongs do not make a right. By highlighting this, I don't mean to in any way say that the horrific crimes perpetrated by Clayton Lockett, Charles Warner and others like them do not warrant punishment. They absolutely do, and I cannot say that if my own child was not killed by a man like Charles Warner that I wouldn't want him to suffer unimaginable pain.

But that wouldn't bring my child back. It wouldn't undo the crime or take away that pain. I once heard that by holding on to your anger and fury, the only person who'd suffer in the long run is yourself.

Would watching someone who hurt you die, in a horrific way, really change anything?