UPDATE: Uganda Reportedly to Remove Death Penalty from Anti-Gay Bill
January 7, 2010
The Canadian Press reported on Thursday that a provision in Uganda’s anti-gay bill that calls for the execution of some gay and lesbian people will be removed from the legislation after President Yoweri Museveni expressed opposition.
The proposed legislation, however, remains extremely brutal and calls for the life-imprisonment of some LGB Ugandans. The bill also prescribes so-called ‘reparative therapy’ as a means of “stop[ping] the bad habit.”
So-called ‘reparative therapy’ has been denounced by numerous American medical and psychological organizations, including the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Medical Association.
The Washington Post published an op-ed on Thursday which stressed that simply removing the death penalty from the bill is a paltry win and should not be celebrated by human rights advocates:
This retreat from the death sentence originally proposed should neither be celebrated nor considered a concession by the government in response to pressure from the United States and other nations. The proposal is barbaric. That it is even being considered puts Uganda beyond the pale of civilized nations.
Meanwhile, other African nations are also persecuting LGBT citizens. Reuters reported on Wednesday that Amnesty International has called on the nation of Malawi to release two gay men who were imprisoned after holding a traditional wedding ceremony.
The arrest of the two men solely for their real or perceived sexual orientation amounts to discrimination and it is in violation of their rights to freedom of conscience, expression and privacy. Amnesty International considers individuals imprisoned solely for their consensual sexual relationship in private as prisoners of conscience and calls for their immediate and unconditional release.
GLAAD will continue to follow the media’s coverage of Uganda’s virulently anti-gay measure. Updates can be found on GLAADblog.org
Related Posts:GLAAD Co-Sponsors Vigil for Jorge Steve Lopez Mercado
November 25, 2009
Hundreds of people gathered in New York City’s historic Greenwich Village Sunday, Nov. 22 to take a stand against anti-LGBT violence. The vigil was held in honor of Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado, the 19-year-old openly gay man who was brutally murdered more than a week ago in Puerto Rico.
The vigil, run concurrently with vigils in 15 other cities, was organized in conjunction with GLAAD and featured several prominent elected officials. GLAAD’s President Jarrett Barrios was a featured speaker.
“A lot of us who grew up Latino, grew up with this machismo ingrained in us, we need to examine what’s underneath,” said Barrios, a sentiment that echoed throughout the mostly Latino crowd.
The vigil was the latest public outcry after Juan Martinez Matos, 26, pled guilty to murdering Mercado. Matos, was also charged with three weapons and one count of hiding evidence.
Despite the evidence against Matos, the Puerto Rican government says it’s still “unclear” how it will prosecute him. Law officials speculate the government may try the case as a simple murder case (without it being designated as a hate crime) because Matos claims he “didn’t know the gender of Mercado.” But for many vigil attendees and elected officials across the country—that is unacceptable.
“This is a hate crime!” City Councilwoman Christine Quinn, the first openly lesbian Speaker of the City Council, told reporters. “The attack against any American because of their sexual orientation or gender identity is unacceptable, and will be prosecuted to the highest and fullest extent of the law,” she said.
There is mounting pressure on Attorney General Eric Holder to pressure the Puerto Rican government to try the case as a hate crime. If Puerto Rico agrees, this could be the first case tried under the new Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
For more pictures from the vigil, visit: “Remembering Jorge Steven Mercado, a vigil”
Related Posts:Jason Mattison, African American Gay Teen Murdered
November 24, 2009
The murder of openly gay teen Jason Mattison Jr., 15, has shaken the city of Baltimore.
On Nov. 10, police found Mattison raped, gagged and stabbed to death in a closet at his aunt’s house. The main suspect is Dante Parish, 35, a family friend and convicted felon who served only 10 years of an original 30-year sentence for an earlier crime.
The Nov. 18 edition of The Baltimore Sun published the article, “Many unanswered questions in killing of youth.” It provided the details about this horrid crime:
The day Jason’s body was found, it was Couplin who called police, at 3 a.m. Nov. 10. She reported that someone had broken into the house and stolen a television from the living room. A police officer came and wrote a larceny report.
Couplin called police again at 5:09 a.m., saying that she saw blood on a banister leading to the second floor. She also reported Jason missing.
Police found his body in the back of a second-floor closet. Charging documents say that “several witnesses were identified and positively identified defendant Dante Parrish as the person responsible for this act.” Couplin said she now believes the missing television was a diversion to make it look like a break-in.
Police arrested Parrish two days later at a convenience store on Moravia Road. A department spokesman said Parrish confessed to the killing the next day and is being held without bail.
The article added there were still many unanswered questions regarding this case:
Did Jason leave his mother’s house and move in with his aunt, as his grandmother suggested? Or was he just visiting on that fateful day, as a cousin said? And why did people in his aunt’s house open their door to the suspect, a convicted killer released early from prison because of flaws in his case?
“From now on, we do have to take more care in who we let in and who we trust,” said Jason’s cousin, Laquanna Couplin, who lives in the house on Llewellyn Avenue where Jason was killed.
She described Dante Parrish, 35, who is charged with first-degree murder in the case, as a longtime family friend, but she would not say whether he lived there or visited.
Mattison was described as a popular and vivacious student who was loved by his classmates:
Jason loved texting and talking, and he spent his evenings chatting with friends on MySpace.
Jason was one of the most popular kids at school, his English teacher said, always first to class, always first to the cafeteria, where students fought to sit at his table, always first to turn in his homework and always getting near-perfect grades.
“He was outspoken and excited about everything he talked about,” Jones said. “Walking into school, he was the first one to share what he did over the weekend. He was very, very popular, and he was everyone’s best friend.”
Jason wanted to be a pediatrician, Jones said, and the only thing the two debated was Jason’s constant chatter.
According to another Baltimore Sun story published on Nov. 19, Mattison’s funeral took place on Wednesday, Nov. 18.
An overflow crowd spilled out of the sanctuary and into the vestibule of a West Baltimore church Wednesday morning for the funeral of Jason Mattison Jr.
The principal at Jason’s school announced a scholarship fund set up in his name. Friends and family recalled stories involving the rambunctious teenager, who had dreams of becoming a pediatrician. And the reverend of the church told hundreds of mourners that the boy’s death should serve as a warning to the downtrodden neighborhood where it happened to closely watch all kids.
GLAAD will continue to watch to follow this story and provide updates.
Related Posts:UPDATE: Locals Gather in Puerto Rico to Remember Jorge Steven López – Vigils to be held across the Nation in Coming Days
November 20, 2009
Locals gathered in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Thursday afternoon to remember 19 year-old Jorge Steven López, who was brutally murdered last Friday in what appears to be a hate-motivated crime.
Local activist and GLAAD ally Christopher Pagan was on the ground in Puerto Rico for the gathering.
“I was really touched by how many locals — gay and straight– came together to remember Jorge and defend the rights of the LGBT community,” said Pagan. ”Since Jorge’s death, I see gay men and lesbians in the community walking with more pride than I had ever seen before and straight community members who sympathize with the gay community during this difficult time.”
GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios will join thousands of New Yorkers this Sunday, November 22 at Pier 45 in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood. Stand with GLAAD in mourning the horrific death of Jorge Steven López.
The New York Vigil will take place at Pier 45 on Sunday, November 22, 2009 at 5:00 pm. An optional mass will follow.
Other vigils will be held across the nation in coming days. Vigil locations include:
Abilene, TX – 5:30PM, ACU campus, next to GATA fountain [Facebook link]
Amherst, MA – MONDAY 11/23 – 6:30PM, Food For Thought Books [Facebook link]
Atlanta – Details forthcoming
Boston – 7PM, Trinity Church, Copley Plaza [Facebook link]
Chicago – 4PM, Division and California, procession to Humboldt Park Boat House [Facebook link coming Friday]
Durham, NC – 6PM, Corcoran St, CCB Plaza [Facebook link]
Los Angeles – 8PM, Santa Monica and San Vicente [Facebook link]
New Orleans – Details forthcoming
Oakland – 3:30PM, MacArthur and Lakeshore/Grand Ave [Facebook link]
Philadelphia – Details forthcoming
San Juan, Puerto Rico - November 25, 6PM, Department of Justice
San Francisco – 7PM, Castro and Market [Facebook link]
Terre Haute, IN - FRI 11/20 – 6:30PM, Indiana State, DeDe Plaza [Facebook link]
For the latest information about a vigil in your area, please visit: http://mercado-vigil.tumblr.com/
(Photos courtesy of Christopher Pagan)
Related Posts:BREAKING: Puerto Rico Police Confirm Jorge Steven López Murder is being Investigated as a Possible Hate Crime
November 18, 2009
The Associated Press reported late Wednesday that Puerto Rico police have confirmed that the savage murder of 19 year-old Jorge Steven López is being investigated as a possible hate crime.
Juan Antonio Martínez Matos confessed on Wednesday to brutally murdering, decapitating and dismembering López on November 13.
If charged with a hate crime, the case could be the first ever to invoke new federal hate crimes legislation that protects victims on the basis of sexual orientation, gender, and gender identity.
The AP reported that Martínez Matos has already been interrogated by a local prosecutor who concluded the killing was in fact a hate-motivated crime. Charges have yet to be filed, however.
The AP also noted the significance of a hate crime conviction:
A suspect convicted of a hate crime offense as part of another crime automatically faces the maximum penalty for the underlying crime. For a murder charge, that would be life in prison.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has said that it will assume jurisdiction over the case if it is deemed a hate crime by local law enforcement officials.
Vigils are being held across the nation in coming days to remember young López. For more information about a vigil in your area, please visit: http://mercado-vigil.tumblr.com/
GLAAD has reached out to the victim’s family, friends, and community members and will provide media training for various spokespeople who wish to tell Jorge’s story. Updates can be found on GLAADblog.org
Related Posts:UPDATE: Reports Say Suspect to Use So-Called ‘Trans Panic Defense’ in Jorge Steven López Murder Case
November 18, 2009
The Puerto Rico-based newspaper El Nuevo Dia reported on Wednesday that Juan Antonio Martínez Matos – the suspect accused of savagely murdering 19 year-old Jorge Steven López – has used the so-called ‘trans panic defense’ while in police custody.
The ‘gay panic defense’ or ‘trans panic defense’ is a common tactic used by anti-LGBT criminal suspects and implies that LGBT people are legitimate targets for discrimination, abuse and violence. Implying that an openly LGBT victim shares responsibility for being assaulted, or that an attack is justified because of an unwanted romantic or sexual advance often biases criminal and legal investigations.
According to El Nuevo Dia, Martínez Matos, 26, claims that he was soliciting women for sex when approached by López who he says was wearing “a blue dress and boots. The suspect alleges that he allowed López into his vehicle under the impression that López was female, but after discovering López to be male, Martínez Matos says he “had a flashback to when he was raped in prison” and proceeded to attack and murder the young man. The teen’s body was later discovered decapitated, dismembered and partially burnt.
Sources close to the victim confirm that López identified as a gay man.
LGBT organizations across the nation are reacting to the gruesome murder that most see as an anti-LGBT bias crime.
In a statement released Tuesday, Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Rea Carey, condemned the savage murder and encouraged local law enforcement to prosecute the suspect to the full extent of the law:
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force stands in solidarity with the LGBT community in Puerto Rico and sends its deepest condolences to the family and friends of Jorge Steven López. We urge local law enforcement authorities to continue their expedient work on this case. Fortunately, Puerto Rico has a local hate crimes statute, but it is imperative that federal authorities continue to monitor this ongoing investigation and step in if necessary or assist if asked, as allowed by the new federal hate crimes law.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has said that it will assume jurisdiction over the case if local law enforcements determine the murder to be a hate-motivated crime.
It is disturbing to read that Martínez Matos seems to be attempting to justify his horrific actions with the so-called ‘Trans Panic Defense.” GLAAD urges national media to report the tragedy in a fair, accurate, and inclusive manner so that law enforcement may better and more transparently investigate and communicate the facts of this appalling crime.
GLAAD will closely monitor media coverage to ensure it is fair, accurate and inclusive. GLAAD has also reached out to the family of Jorge Steven López and to local community members on the ground to offer media assistance.
Related Posts:Puerto Rican Teen Brutally Slain in Alleged Hate Crime
November 17, 2009
The body of a nineteen year-old boy was found decapitated, dismembered, and partially burnt in the Puerto Rican city of Cayey on Friday in what some suspect is an anti-gay bias crime.
The Puerto Rico-based newspaper Primera Hora reported on Tuesday that a suspect has been arrested and two vehicles have been seized for investigation in the case.
Friends grew concerned after the teen, Jorge Steven López, failed to meet them at a local club.
A Puerto Rican investigator, Angel Rodriguez, drew stern criticism from LGBT advocates after he implied that López perhaps deserved his brutal fate because of López’s so-called “lifestyle.”
“When these type of people get into this and go out into the streets like this, they know this can happen to them,” Rodriguez said in a statement.
Rodriguez has since been removed from the case.
The LGBT publication Edge reported on Monday that the FBI announced that the bureau will claim jurisdiction over the case if local investigators conclude that López’s murder is, in fact, a hate motivated crime.
President Barack Obama signed groundbreaking federal hate-crimes legislation just last month. That legislation prohibits hate-motivated violence on the basis of sexual orientation, gender, and gender identity.
GLAAD will continue to monitor the media’s coverage of this gruesome crime. Updates can be found on GLAADblog.org
Related Posts:Human Rights Watch Report Details ‘Gay Killings’ in Iraq
August 17, 2009
Human Rights Watch (HRW), a leading independent organization dedicated to defending and protecting human rights across the globe, released a 68-page report on Monday that details the horrific campaign to torture and murder gay men in Iraq.
The report is based on interviews with over 50 Iraqi men who identified themselves as gay, though the report also notes that men who are simply “not ‘manly’ enough” also face persecution and murder. HRW reports that even “the most trivial details of appearance – the length of a man’s hair, the fit of his clothes” can determine whether a man lives or dies.
According to the report, the killing campaign began “in the early months of 2009.” Militiamen “invade the privacy of homes, abduct [gay] sons or brothers, [and] leave their mutilated bodies in the neighborhood the next day.” The report illustrates the gruesome torture wrought on the men, some of whom are “executed by injecting glue up their anuses.”
An Iraqi Interior Ministry Official told Associated Press that estimating the number of men already killed is nearly impossible “because in most cases the family members themselves are either involved in the killing or prefer to keep silent, fearing shame.” An official at the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) told HRW in April, however, that the death count was probably already “in the hundreds.”
In an article published Monday, The Washington Post quoted Scott Long, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights program at HRW, as saying “The [Iraqi] government has done absolutely nothing to respond.” And, indeed, the report even claims that HRW “heard accounts of police complicity in abuse – ranging from harassing ‘effeminate’ men at checkpoints, to possible abduction and extrajudicial killing.”
The Post goes on to say that both “the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and American lawmakers have expressed concern about the reports of slayings.”
Although procedural laws in Iraq do not call for the death of a man who has consensual sexual relations with another man, the HRW report points to special religious laws called fatwa that may circumvent that code:
A young man in Sadr City told an Iraqi columnist that ‘the killing operations [against gay men] are not crimes since they fall under jurisdiction of a religious fatwa.
HRW concludes its report by calling on the Iraqi government to put a stern halt to its anti-gay killings and bids that the U.S. and its allies do all that is possible to assist in that effort:
The Iraqi state must desist from silence, and fully and immediately investigate the murder and torture of people targeted because they do not correspond to the norms of ‘masculinity’ or are suspected of homosexual conduct. [The Iraqi state] must appropriately punish those found responsible… [and] the US and the US-led multinational forces in Iraq should assist the Iraqi government wherever possible in investigating these crimes.
GLAAD will continue to monitor the media’s coverage of the anti-gay killings in Iraq.
Related Posts:Remembering an Openly Gay “Rising Star in Our Navy”
July 9, 2009
On June 30th Navy Seaman August Provost was found shot to death and his guard shack burned at Camp Pendleton, a Marine base in the San Diego area.
August Provost was a 29-year-old African American gay man. Provost’s boyfriend, Kaether Cordero, and family members recount that he had recently been harassed about his sexual orientation. The family and his boyfriend believe Provost was killed for being gay and because of his race.
August Provost
The Navy has a suspect in custody, and believes the murder was simply a random act of violence.
Provost’s murder raises questions about the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and how effective the investigation can be with such a policy in place. Rose Roy, Provost’s aunt, said that the policy discouraged Provost from reporting the harassment he was facing in the Navy.
Several members of Congress have called for a full-scale investigation into what happened to Provost. The Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, who represents an area near the base where Provost was killed, Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA) has called for an investigation. He was joined this week by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat who represents Houston where August Provost lived before joining the military.
August Provost’s story has gained widespread media attention, from CNN, MSNBC, the Huffington Post, Fox News, the Los Angeles Times and The Associated Press, among others. As the investigations move forward and Provost’s accused murderer is charged and tried for his brutal death, the story will certainly continue to gain media attention.
GLAAD will ensure that the media recognize and remember August Provost both as a “rising star in our Navy” as described by a Navy spokesman, as well as a gay man his family and boyfriend loved very much. If it’s true that Provost couldn’t notify military personnel about his ongoing harrassment, his story will become an all-too-tragic example of why LGBT advocates, high-ranking military officials and many in Congress are arguing for the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.
**Editor’s Note: Many media accounts attribute statements to Provost’s family and boyfriend saying he was gay. Other stories report that the family says Provost was bisexual. It is unclear how Provost personally identified. At the end of the day, whether Provost was bisexual or gay, he was a victim of tragic violence that those who knew him are sure was a result of intolerance about his sexual orientation
Related Posts:Transgender Woman and Boyfriend Murdered
January 2, 2009
This week we learned another LGBT couple was murdered in their home in Indianapolis, Ind. Taysia Elzy, 34, a transgender woman, and her boyfriend, 22-year-old Mike Hunt were found murdered in their home last week.
Milton Lindgren, 70, and Eric Hendricks, 73, a gay couple, were murdered in their Indianapolis home this October. 
Last week’s tragic double-homicide are being covered extensively over at the Bilerico Project:
“If the double slaying is a hate crime, nothing will be done about it. Indiana doesn’t have a hate crimes law; instead we have a ‘hate crimes reporting’ law, but there is no recourse if police departments don’t report to the state. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department stopped documenting hate crimes years ago.”
While some local news stories seem to try to avoid using pronouns for both Elzy and Hunt, other news outlets relied on police descriptions of the couple as being two men leading “alternative lifestyles,” an unfair, inaccurate description. (See GLAAD’s Media Reference Guide for further explanation.)
Blogs and online message boards are filling in the pieces of Elzy’s gender identity, and mainstream outlets are following suit. Reporter Francesca Jarosz over at the Indianapolis Star has done a great job in her coverage of the crime.
Police arrested Christopher L. Conwell, 20, in conjunction with the murders Wednesday. It’s been confirmed that the couple died of gunshot wounds and that Conwell was an acquaintence.
