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/