Help Pass The Matthew Shepard Act

Judy lost her son, Matthew, to a brutal anti-gay attack – and she has been fighting for ten years for a federal law to give LGBT people the hate crime protections they need and deserve.
Watch her video and then send the letter below to your senators – tell them to take action on the Matthew Shepard Act. We have no time to waste.
http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/campaign/hate_crimes_senate

Maine state Senate voted for same-sex marriage

The Maine state Senate voted 20 - 15 in favor of legislation that would permit same-sex couples to marry under state law. The Senate also defeated an amendment to the bill that proposed putting the question of marriage equality for same-sex couples before voters.
The marriage bill now moves to the House of Representatives.
http://www.hrcbackstory.org/2009/04/maine-senate-votes-in-favor-of-marriage-for-same-sex-couples/

When will we stop schoolyard bullying?

Jaheem Herrera, 11, was frustrated with bullies calling him "gay" and "the virgin" - after he was bullied at school...he came home from school and hung himself.
http://bit.ly/QaOvY

NC Rep. Virginia Foxx Dishonored Matthew Shepard's Death On The House Floor

NC Rep. Virginia Foxx Dishonored Matthew Shepard's Death On The House Floor http://bit.ly/10ASbE

Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act--Roll Call

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll223.xml

THE HATE CRIMES BILL, H.R. 1913, PASSES U.S. HOUSE!!

THE HATE CRIMES BILL, H.R. 1913, PASSES U.S. HOUSE!! FINAL VOTE IS 249 - 175.
http://clerk.house.gov/floorsummary/floor.html

360 + same-sex marriage licenses in Iowa today

Update: 360+ same-sex couples apply for marriage licenses; most in Polk Co. http://bit.ly/17uHyg

Same-Sex Couples Apply For Iowa Marriage Licenses

Two Lincoln, Neb., women were first in line at the Pottawattamie County Recorder’s office in Council Bluffs to apply for their license.
http://www.ketv.com/news/19300841/detail.html

Iowa Begin Issuing Same-Sex Licences

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Same-sex couples are applying for marriage licenses in Iowa today, after the Supreme Court's historic decision to legalize gay marriage.
http://www.kcci.com/cnn-news/19299662/detail.html

Iowa judge to stop performing marriages

At least one Iowa magistrate has decided that he will no longer perform marriages, a response due in part to the Iowa Supreme Court ruling that allows same-sex couples to marry.Third District Magistrate Francis Honrath of Larchwood on Wednesday said he will not be performing marriages."The Supreme Court ruling had something to do with it, but the truth is it's not just same-sex marriage I had problems with," said Honrath, a Creighton University law school graduate who is married and has seven children. More judges are expected to take similar action, which could make it challenging for even heterosexuals to marry, a political science professor, a chief district court judge and a same-sex marriage opponent speculated. District 3 Chief Judge Duane Hoffmeyer said he believes other court officials will also stop performing marriages."It's a discretionary function," Hoffmeyer said. "Some have never done any marriages. It's up to the individual and, to be honest, with everything that's going on, some are still unresolved on whether they will or won't." http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090423/NEWS10/904230387

FBI: Hate Crimes Down Except For Gays and Obama

In a statement from the Human Rights Campaign, President Joe Solmonese says, The FBI’s 2007 hate crimes report shows once again that hate crimes protections for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community are long overdue. We are hopeful that after next week’s election we will finally have a President and a Congress that will enact federal hate crimes legislation into law. This month has been a time to remember hate crimes against LGBT people as we remember the 10 year anniversary of the death of Matthew Shepard. Since his death the FBI has documented over 10,000 hate crimes based on sexual orientation. Even with the national attention Matthew’s death brought to the subject and the thousands of other cases there still is not federal hate crimes legislation protecting LGBT people.
http://lezgetreal.com/?p=167&cpage=1

Man Found Guilty Of Murder, Hate Crime In Transgender Killing

GREELEY, Colo. -- The family of an 18-year-old transgender teen burst into tears as they learned that the man who killed her was found guilty of first-degree murder and bias-motivated crime. Allen Andrade, 32, is expected to spend the rest of his life in prison. Sentencing will occur at 4 p.m. He was also found guilty of aggravated motor vehicle theft and identity theft.
The jury deliberated for less than two hours before reaching the verdict Wednesday afternoon.
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19250317/detail.html

Why LGBT hate-crimes protections should be Congress' priority

The death of Colorado transgender teenager Angie Zapata is an urgent reminder of the need for Congress to pass a federal hate-crimes statute, writes out U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., a co-sponsor of the bill. "People from all over the country were appalled a decade ago when gay student Matthew Shepard was beaten to death in Wyoming," Polis writes. "We should be even more appalled that in those 10 years, our nation has failed to adopt a federal hate-crimes bill." The murder and hate-crimes trial of the man accused in Zapata's death began this week. Denver Post, The (04/16)

Angie Zapata's family takes the stand

The first few times, it almost seemed like the public defenders were misspeaking.But then, those watching the murder trial of Allen Andrade started muttering under their breaths. Witnesses on the stand continued to correct the attorneys questioning them.Family members and friends echoed repeatedly, “my sister,” “Angie,” one by one on the stand Friday as public defenders Annette Kundelius and Brad Martin questioned them about “Justin.” Jurors next week will decide the fate of Andrade, who is suspected of killing Angie Zapata — legally Justin Zapata — on July 17, 2008. Andrade and Zapata met through an online dating networking site last summer and became fast friends. They agreed to meet, and three days after that meeting, Zapata wound up dead on her apartment floor, her face bashed in by a blunt object.Attorneys on Thursday opened the nine-day murder trial with vastly different theories: The prosecution said Andrade knew for 36 hours that Zapata was biologically male, and he killed her because of an intense hatred for homosexuals. Public defenders have plotted the defense that Andrade was so deceived by Zapata, who was convincingly female, that he snapped and lost control when he learned she had male genitalia.
http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=87558843080&h=s9H8Z&u=l7Tb1&ref=nf

U.S. Committee to vote on Hate-Crime Bill

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee will vote on a controversial legislation next week that seeks to add homosexual and transgender people to the list of classes federally protected from hate crimes. H.R. 1913, named the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Act of 2009, is expected to be passed by the committee next week and come to the House floor for a vote in the spring, announced Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), the original co-sponsor of the bill and an openly gay member of Congress, on his website. An identical legislation (H.R. 1592) was passed by the U.S. House in 2007. The Senate later attached the hate crimes legislation to a high-priority defense spending bill, which included funding for the Iraq War, in a political maneuver to pressure former president George W. Bush to pass the amendment. But Bush said the spending bill and the hate crime legislation were two separate issues and vetoed the bill including the legislation.
http://christianpost.com/Society/Politics/2009/04/house-committee-to-vote-on-hate-crimes-bill-17/

Transgender murder trial: Hate crime charge may be a first

GREELEY, Colorado–The murder trial of Allen Andrade, underway in Greeley, Colorado, is being watched closely across the country. Andrade is accused of bludgeoning to death Angie Zapata, a transgender female, last July. Justin “Angie” Zapata was killed by a man she met over the Internet during the summer of 2008.

Since the defense concedes Andrade is the killer, the question at trial is what level of homicide it is: first-degree murder or some lesser degree. The defense says Andrade killed Zapata in rage after learning that the woman he was with was biologically male. The prosecution says Andrade knew for at least 36 hours before the murder that Zapata was born a male, which supports their theory of a premeditated murder—not an uncontrollable rage. http://insession.blogs.cnn.com/2009/04/17/3140/

Follow Angie Zapata's murder trial via Twitter

Light a Candle for Angie Zapata Angie Zapata trial update: They are wrapping up juror selection today and getting ready for opening statements. Lively twitter traffic now from @justiceforangie and the Greeley Tribune reporter from inside the courtroom. Follow the trial live via twitter at http://www.angiezapata.com/. for update see, http://edition.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/04/16/transgender.slaying.trial/

NY Governor Paterson Unveils Same-Sex Marriage Bill

Gov. David A. Paterson on Thursday announced he would introduce a bill to legalize same-sex marriage, drawing on the soaring oratory of the civil rights movement to call on the Legislature to add New York to the four states that have already authorized such unions.
Comparing the status of gay men and lesbians to that of African-Americans, Jews, women, disabled people and other groups who were historically excluded from full political and social equality, Mr. Paterson said he would lead the movement to authorize same-sex marriage in the Empire State. “We have a crisis of leadership today,” he declared. “We’re going to fill that vacuum today.”
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/paterson-unveils-same-sex-marriage-bill/?hp

Washington's governor expected to sign DP rights

Expanding domestic partner rights first granted in 2007, the Washington State House of Representatives voted April 15 to pass into law additional rights for domestic partnerships. The bill now heads to Governor Christine Gregoire's desk for a signature.
http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/east_king/kir/news/43072067.html

Pottawattamie County, Iowa -- Marriage requirements.

Marriage License Information:To obtain a Marriage License we do not require a blood test. The cost of a Marriage License is $35.00 we do not accept personal checks or credit cards. We do accept cash, money orders or cashiers checks. There is a 3 working day waiting period to obtain the license. The bride and the groom must be at least 18 years of age and have a photo ID, They need one witness that knows both the bride and the groom that's at least 18 years of age with a photo ID. The Iowa Marriage License requires that the ceremony take place within the state of Iowa. Wedding Ceremonies are performed Monday through Friday at 11:00 a.m. (per judge availability) on the third floor of the court house, except Courthouse holidays. No appointment is necessary. On the day of the ceremony, report to the Clerk's office on the 3rd floor with your marriage license and two witnesses, age 18 or older. There is no fee for this service during regular working hours, however you are free to offer a gratuity if you like. To make an appointment for weddings at locations other than the Courthouse, you may call District Associate Judge Eveloff at 712.328.5864. http://www.pottcounty.com/html/Recorder_Overview.asp#MLI

Afghan 'anti-rape' women attacked in Kabal

Dozens of Afghan women who tried to protest against a new law that they say legalizes rape within marriage have been attacked in the capital, Kabul. Police intervened after supporters of the law threw stones at the women and tried to seize their banners. The law was signed by President Hamid Karzai but is currently being reviewed after criticism from abroad. Its most controversial article says a woman must make herself available for sex with her husband when he desires. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8000209.stm

Same-sex Iowa Marriage Requirements

Iowa Residency and ID Requirements: You do not have to be a resident of Iowa. Picture identification is required. You also need to provide Social Security information. Previous Marriages: If either of you were previously married, you will need to show the date of divorce or date of spouse's death. If the divorce was within 60 days, a signed copy of the divorce decree will need to be provided. Same Sex Marriage in Iowa: Yes, effective April 27, 2009. On April 3, 2009, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled in an unanimous decision in Varnum v. Brien that "state laws prohibiting marriage on the basis of the partners' gender are unconstitutional."Source: Tom Head. CivilLiberties.about.com. Iowa Waiting Period: Iowa has a three (3) business day waiting period. Fees for Marriage Licenses in Iowa: $35+ -- cash, cashier's checks or money orders only. The fee and acceptance of checks or credit cards varies from County to County. Other Tests in Iowa: No other tests are required in Iowa for a marriage license. http://marriage.about.com/cs/marriagelicenses/p/iowa.htm and Iowa Attorney General, Tom Miller

Gender equality is a fundamental right?

Recent online images recently showed a 17-year-old girl in Pakistan’s Swat Valley being flogged in public for going outdoors with a man not her father, a violation of Islamic practice. In Afghanistan, a proposed law would severely restrict rights of Shia women, forbidding a wife to leave the house without her husband’s consent and condoning marital rape. Both Pakistan and Afghanistan, like the United States, are signatories of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which forbids sex discrimination. For us, gender equality is a fundamental value. But we also profess tolerance for other people’s culture and religion. Which principle should prevail? Should we respond to these developments with tolerance? What do you think?http://ethicist.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/14/limited-tolerance/

Washington State Hate Crimes Legislation Expected to be Signed

Legislation that will expand Washington state's anti-discrimination laws to include protection on the basis of gender identity and expression has moved quickly between the state House and Senate. The bill passed by a 68 to 30 vote in the state House last week and by a 36 to 12 vote in the state Senate in March. Governor Chris Gregoire is expected to sign the bill into law, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
http://www.msmagazine.com/news/uswirestory.asp?ID=11635

AP sources: NY governor wants gay marriage bill

New York legislative officials say Gov. David Paterson is expected to introduce legislation to legalize gay marriage. Two officials say he will introduce the legislation Thursday. They spoke on condition of anonymity because there's been no formal announcement. The proposal would revive a bill that died in 2007 and still faces strong opposition despite a new Democratic majority in the state Senate. Paterson, a Democrat, says in radio interviews that he believes it will ultimately become law and that it should be debated publicly. A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith says he doesn't believe there are enough votes in the chamber to pass the bill. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5grygnggpvdxoXHz6K6u0f9CUtsPQD97ICJFO2

When Words Can Kill: 'That's So Gay'

Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover was 11-- hardly old enough to know his sexuality and yet distraught enough to hang himself last week after school bullies repeatedly called him "gay." Massachusetts mother finds her 11-year-old son hanging by an extension cord. The Springfield, Mass., football player and Boy Scout was ruthlessly teased, despite his mother's pleas to the New Leadership Charter School to address the problem. Sirdeaner L. Walker, 43, found Carl hanging by an extension cord on the second floor of the family's home April 6, just minutes before she was going to a meeting to confront school authorities again. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/story?id=7328091&page=1

Zapata's jury selection begins today

The 300 Weld County residents who report for jury duty today won’t know at first whether they might wind up deciding the fate of a man accused of beating to death Angie Zapata, a 17-year-old transgender woman — first with his fists and then with a fire extinguisher — last summer in Greeley. http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=73257186373&h=MUIXa&u=bhpQ6&ref=nf

Pit Bull saves woman during domestic abuse in Michigan

A Holland woman has an unlikely hero to thank after breaking up a domestic fight. The 32-year-old's estranged husband beat her and attempted to abduct her from her safe house in Holland. The husband's plan was foiled thanks to a pitbull. http://current.com/items/89962554/pit_bull_saves_woman_during_domestic_abuse_in_michigan.htm

White female teacher allegedly murders and rapes Hispanic child..... is it a Hate-crime?

California prosecutors say they are considering rape and molestation allegations against the white woman suspected of killing 8-year-old Latina Sandra Cantu and stuffing her body into a suitcase. The family of Sandra Cantu say they were stunned to learn that neighbor and local Sunday school teacher Melissa Huckaby, bottom left, had been arrested in the gruesome murder of the Tracy, Calif. second-grader.(ABC) San Joaquin County Deputy District Attorney Robert Himmelblau told The Associated Press today that a homicide charge against Melissa Huckaby, 28, could also include the special circumstances of rape with a foreign object, lewd and lascivious conduct with a child and murder in the course of a kidnapping. http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=7321954&page=1 , see also, http://www.helpfindthemissing.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12398

Zapata murderer has gang ties?

A judge ruled this week that jurors won’t hear part of the confession of a man accused of killing an 18-year-old Greeley transgender woman. In addition, Weld District Court Judge Marcelo Kopcow ruled that prosecutors won’t be able to tell jurors that Allen Andrade has gang ties that could have been a motive in the brutal slaying last summer of Angie Zapata, the Greeley Tribune reports.
http://coloradoindependent.com/24095/judge-tosses-confession-gang-links-in-greeley-transgender-murder-trial

The Angie Zapata murder trial

This week a high-profile murder trial begins in Greeley Colorado. The man being prosecuted has admitted to murdering 18 year-old Greeley resident, Angie Zapata. Angie was beaten with a fire extinguisher in her own living room. According to the murderer's confession, while he rifled through her belongings, he realized she wasn't quite dead, and returned and continued to beat her with the fire extinguisher. Angie was discovered by two of her sisters. The murderer has indicated that his sole motivation to murder Angie was that she was a transgender woman. In fact, since being in jail, the murderer has been quoted saying, "all gay things need to die." http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_12116119

Brothers plead not guilty in NY hate-crime murder

New York City — Two men have pleaded not guilty in the hate-crime killing of an Ecuadorean immigrant on a Brooklyn street. Hakim Scott and Keith Phoenix were arraigned on an indictment that includes second-degree murder as a hate crime. Scott and Phoenix could face 78 years in prison, if convicted of murdering Mr. Sucuzhanay. Unfortunately, Jose Sucuzhanay and his brother were attacked Dec. 7 as they walked arm-in-arm to keep warm. The attackers shouted anti-Hispanic and anti-gay slurs at them before attacking the brothers.
http://www.365gay.com/news/brothers-plead-not-guilty-in-ny-hate-crime-killing/

Equality in the Midwest....Iowa leading the way?

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled that basic fairness and constitutional equal protection were the linchpins that overturned a 10-year-old ban on same-sex marriage and puts Iowa squarely in the center of the nation’s debate over gay rights. The unanimous, 69-page decision maintains a church’s right to decide who can be married under its roof but allows the State to marry same sex couples in civil ceremonies.

It should be noted that Iowa Supreme court has long been in the forefront of protecting the civil rights of individuals. "In the first reported case of the Supreme Court of the Territory of Iowa, In re Ralph, 1 Morris 1 (Iowa 1839), we refused to treat a human being as property to enforce a contract for slavery and held our laws must extend equal protection to persons of all races and conditions. 1 Morris at 9. This decision was seventeen years before the United States Supreme Court infamously decided Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. (19 How.) 393, 15 L. Ed. 691 (1856), which upheld the rights of a slave owner to treat a person as property. Similarly, in Clark v. Board of Directors, 24 Iowa 266 (1868), and Coger v. North West. Union Packet Co., 37 Iowa 145 (1873), we struck blows to the concept of segregation long before the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483, 74 S. Ct. 686, 98 L. Ed. 873 (1954). Iowa was also the first state in the nation to admit a woman to the practice of law, doing so in 1869. Admission of Women to the Bar, 1 Chicago Law Times 76, 76 (1887). Her admission occurred three years before the United States Supreme Court affirmed the State of Illinois’ decision to deny women admission to the practice of law, see Bradwell v. 18 Illinois, 83 U.S. (16 Wall.) 130, 139, 21 L. Ed. 442, 445 (1873), and twenty-five years before the United States Supreme Court affirmed the refusal of the Commonwealth of Virginia to admit women into the practice of law, see Ex parte Lockwood, 154 U.S. 116, 118, 14 S. Ct. 1082, 1083, 38 L. Ed. 929, 930 (1894). In each of those instances, our state approached a fork in the road toward fulfillment of our constitution’s ideals and reaffirmed the “absolute equality of all” persons before the law as “the very foundation principle of our government.”4 See Coger, 37 Iowa 153."
VARNUM et al., v. BRIEN, at 17-18. http://www.judicial.state.ia.us/Supreme_Court/Varnum_v_Brien/Case_Briefs_and_Trial_Court_Ruling/
See also,
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090403/NEWS/90403010

Only in America--A Fair Sentence? -

Drunk Nebraska [white] man who struck and killed two [Native Americans] people near Pine Ridge gets 51 months in prison. Timothy Hotz, 61, Rushville, pleaded guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter for killing Robert Whirlwind Horse, 23, of Manderson and Calonnie Randall, 26, of Wanblee. The two men were killed Aug. 27 as they walked alongside the highway between Pine Ridge and Whiteclay, Nebraska. Both men that were killed were sober, however, Hotz was driving drunk. Hotz struck the two men so hard he literally knocked them out of their shoes and socks! Remarkably, Hotz has been sentenced to ONLY four years in federal prison for the crime. I ask you, IS this JUSTICE?
For more details of the case: See, http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2009/03/30/news/top/doc49d119e13fdc4879407100.txt

A Killing in Colorado-----Will Justice be served?

Angie Zapata was brutally murdered in Greeley, Colorado, in July 2008. Angie was a transgender woman and she was murdered because of anti-transgender bias.On April 14, 2009, her alleged killer will go on trial in Greeley, Colorado. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIPfBswjEoI