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While the young woman's killing spawned local outrage, national concern, as occurred following the murder of Matthew Shepard, has been slow to emerge. Scott Miller, whose daily news feeds are received by ^GayToday,~ is angry about this fact. He writes: "Does anybody have a clue what it takes to wake up our advocacy groups, let alone our community? Can anybody tell me why Shepherd inspires outrage and this doesn't merit a press release outside of GLAAD? "Do the victims have to be young, Caucasian gay males? Does there need to be a crucifixion?" Anthony Hall, Sakia's cousin, also addressed the protesting crowd at Newark's City Hall. He angrily denounced Mayor Sharpe James and what he termed inadequate police protection in the area. "Your kid could be dead, just like my cousin is…We need to stop this madness. Who is someone to judge anybody else? No one has that right. It shouldn't matter whether you're gay or not." Newark's Mayor, although not present at the protest rally, later announced: "We will not tolerate bias crime in the city of Newark." Sakia and her girlfriend, returning from a Saturday night's festivities in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, were waiting for a bus in Newark, according to police. Although there is a police booth at the busy intersection where the murder occurred, it was empty at the time. Suspect McCullough, it was reported, was a passenger in the station wagon that cruised the young women at approximately 3:20 a.m. Both McCullough and the driver, who has not been charged, got out to talk to Sakia and her friend. Sakia was stabbed after revealing she was a lesbian. |
Newark Mayor Sharp James said that his city will not tolerate hate crimes