|
|
 of Apparent Anti-Gay Violence HRC Calling on Bush Administration to Condemn Hate Crimes Silence from the White House Gives Hate-mongers a Free Reign |
|
Compiled By GayToday
In a crime apparently caused in large-part by anti-gay bias, Willie Houston, 38, was fatally shot in the chest in Nashville, Tenn., after the alleged gunman, Lewis Maynard Davidson III, 25, taunted him with anti-gay epithets. Houston had just finished a midnight riverboat cruise with his fiancée, Nedra Jones, and friends when the trouble started. Houston escorted a blind male friend by the arm into a restroom while holding Jones' purse. Inside the restroom, the gunman allegedly hurled anti-gay insults at the friends. He followed them out of the restroom, while continuing his verbal harassment. Davidson then allegedly returned to his car where he retrieved a gun and said, "Now what you got to say?" before firing the weapon at Houston.
In Colorado, high school student Fred Martinez, Jr., 16, - who described himself as openly gay, transgender and "two-spirit" - was found on June 21 beaten to death in Cortez, Colo. Shaun Murphy, 18, has been charged with second-degree murder. Police had been told that Murphy had bragged to a friend that "he had beat up a fag." HRC, along with the Four Corners gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, is closely monitoring the case to ensure justice, says HRC. In addition, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation sent a representative to the state to help work with local media outlets on the intricacies of this case. For instance, GLAAD explained to the media the meaning of "two-spirit," a Navajo term for someone who identifies and lives as both genders or having the mind and spirit of a girl in a boy's body. Additionally, HRC is looking into reports of possible hate crimes in Alaska and Texas. "This escalation in brutal attacks comes at a time when Congress can pass the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act, and commit this nation to stopping hate violence," said HRC Political Director Winnie Stachelberg. The 33-year-old federal statute currently used to prosecute hate violence is in need of updating with the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act. The law now does not cover hate violence based on sexual orientation, gender or disability, and has an overly restrictive element that requires that the victim be chosen because he or she was engaged in a federally protected activity. The bill now before Congress offers a sensible approach to help combat these violent crimes. It would extend basic hate crime protections to all Americans in all communities by adding real or perceived sexual orientation, gender and disability to the categories covered and by removing the federally-protected activity requirement. The bill would also provide federal technical and financial assistance to state and local law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute hate crimes.
The Rangers then put the friends through a traumatic episode of extreme physical and verbal abuse, using anti-gay slurs during repeated beatings before hauling them off to jail, according to the Texas Triangle. HRC will continue to work with the San Antonio Equal Rights Political Caucus to monitor the situation for the duration of the investigation. In 1999, there were more than 4,000 reported hate crimes based on race, more than 1,400 based on religion, 1,300 based on sexual orientation, 830 based on ethnicity and 19 based on disability, according to FBI statistics for that year. Eighteen states do not include sexual orientation in its hate crimes law, and 46 states do not include gender identity. Five states have no hate crimes law at all. |
In addition to the recent upswing in hate violence, a new report of alleged anti-gay police misconduct in Texas was brought to the attention of federal authorities. FBI officials, at HRC's request, recently began an investigation of San Antonio Park Rangers for allegedly harassing and physically abusing two Canadian tourists who they referred to as "faggots" while they were allegedly beaten. "When the cop saw the Ontario license, he looked to the other three officers present and said he had 'two Canadian faggots,'" one of the victims, Joey Abbruzzese, told the Texas Triangle. "The officer asked, 'What are you fags doing in our city?'"
