A 'Crumb' Turns One: Byrd-Shepard Hate Crimes Act Anniversary

President Obama's GL haters slime any legislation or policy that isn't related to same gender marraige, DADT or DOMA repeal as 'crumbs'.

Today is the one year anniversary of one of those 'crumbs', the signing into law of one of the trans community's legislative Holy Grails, the Byrd-Shepard Hate Crimes Act.

Just to recap what it is, the Byrd-Shepard Hate Crimes Act is an expansion of the1969 US federal hate crimes law to include crimes motivated by a victims actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.   The law also directs the Federal Bureau of Investigation to track hate crime statistics.

The Byrd-Shepard Hate Crimes Act

• removes the prerequisite that the victim be engaging in a federally-protected activity, like voting or going to school.
• gives federal authorities greater ability to engage in hate crimes investigations that local authorities choose not to pursue.
• provides $5 million per year in funding for fiscal years 2010 through 2012 to help state and local agencies pay for investigating and prosecuting hate crimes;
• requires the FBI to track statistics on hate crimes against trans people as it does with other affected groups. 

This is what the president had to say about it one year ago.

But our legislative work is not finished.   We still need to pass an inclusive ENDA and an inclusive SNDA.
Here's hoping that finally happens and gets signed into law as soon as possible.

One Suspect in Victoria C. White Case Turns Himself In

Seems like I was just posting the update in this case a few hours ago.

Now comes word in an e-mail from Acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino Saturday that one of the two suspects wanted in the September 12 death of Victoria Carmen White has turned himself in.. 

Accompanied by an attorney, Marquise Foster surrendered to authorities at approximately 8 p.m. EDT Saturday.  He is being charged with murder and bail has been set at $1 million.

The po-po's are still searching for 23 year old Alrashim Chambers of Newark, the other suspect in this case.

I'd also like to remind you peeps in the area that there is a $2000 reward being offered by Garden State Equality for any information that results in the expeditious apprehension of Chambers

According to Garden State Equality legal counsel Leslie Farber, the reward being offered is NOT dependent on whether or not Victoria's murder is classified as a hate crime.  .


If you have questions or info that will lead to the arrest of the remaining suspect, please contact Leslie Farber
The E-Mail: contact is Leslie.Farber@verizon.net or you can phone Leslie at  (973) 509-8500 or (201) 390-6303.

One down, one to go. 

Damn-Gay Peeps Ain't Even Safe In The Stonewall Inn

New York's Stonewall Inn is the most famous gay bar on the planet.    The world famous Christopher Street bar was the site of the 1969 riot that jumped off the modern TBLG rights movement and in 2000 was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

But according to the New York Daily News it was the scene of a weekend gay bashing that thankfully led to the arrests of the wastes of DNA involved.

NYPD arrested Staten Island residents Matthew Francis, 21 and 17 year old Christopher Orlando on charges they yelled homophobic slurs while pummeling a 34 year old man during a restroom robbery at the Stonewall Inn early Sunday morning. 

Sadly, that wasn't the only phobic incident that happened in New York's most gay friendly 'hood.   l

On Friday night 20 year old Andrew Jackson was busted a few blocks away in Chelsea when he and a pack of unidentified pals brutally attacked three gay men who were kissing each other on the corner of W.25th Street and ninth Ave.

Damn, now the homophobes feel so comfortable in their hatred of LGBT peeps they not only bully our kids, but now they're coming into iconic buildings to do crap to us.

What's next?   Are they going to disrupt GLBT friendly churches and conventions?

We've had a jacked up week with seven BTLG kids dying by their own hand because of bullying.  The community is still pissed about the stalled congressional civil rights agenda leading into a crucial midterm election in which anti civil rights candidates are using truckloads of corporate money to get elected.   We've had murdered transwoman Victoria White's identity erased by the Essex County, New Jersey criminal justice community..

When are we as a community going to say, 'enough is enough' and just straight up go off and aim direct actions and protests at the people and organizations actually responsible for oppressing us?

When are the protests going to be aimed at the people and organizations such as the Republican Party and their Tea Klux Klan auxiliaries, fundie Christians, the Catholic Church, various hate preachers such as Fred Phelps and conservative hate radio?

They are the ones stirring up the anti GLBT sentiment that is killing us, our kids, subjecting us to bodily harm and making our communities less safe.

When is that going to happen?

NY LGBT Center Replaces Torched Rainbow Flag

On the morning of April 14, 2010 New York's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center staff arrived to find a torched rainbow flag draped on the front of their building.

They responded to the ignorance by unfurling an even larger rainbow flag during a 5 PM EDT ceremony yesterday.

This is a statement about the incident from their website:

Acts of hate must not be tolerated! Actions like this are menacing to our community and, if not addressed, can lead to an environment that allows more heinous acts, such as verbal attacks, property damage and physical violence. Showing our solidarity now will empower our community and send a message to the public that we will not be intimidated or threatened.

The Center is a beacon of safety and hope for LGBT New Yorkers and our building stands as an emblem of our community's presence in the city. The Center is visited over 300,000 times every year by people in search of support, safety and transformation. More than 1,000 young people come through our doors annually searching for acceptance and a place where they feel comfortable expressing their true selves.

Cowardly acts of hateful speech must be responded to with acts of courage and unity.


This is the desperate, and despicable act of people who know they are on the wrong side of the moral arc of the universe and history. It is beginning to bend toward justice for GLBT people.

It's our job to make sure its momentum doesn't get blunted by the Forces of Intolerance.

Laramie Project-Ten Years Later In Louisville

I'm bouncing out of the house toward downtown Louisville in an hour to the Pamela Brown Theatre.

My purpose for my night out is to check out the performance of The Laramie Project-Ten Years Later at 8 PM EDT.

Laramie is the hometown of the late Matthew Shepard, whose gruesome 1998 murder galvanized support for hate crimes legislation that has yet to pass Congress.

The Tectonic Theater Project conducted a series of interviews with Laramie residents in the wake of Matthew Shepard's murder in order to better understand the community. Those interviews became the seeds in 2000 for the Laramie Project, one of the most performed plays in America.

Ten years after Matthew Shepard’s death, the Tectonic Theatre Project returned to Laramie to see how the community had changed since the murder.

“One of the things we found when we got there,” shared playwright Moisés Kaufman, “which greatly surprised us, was people in Laramie saying this was not a hate crime.”

“We found the people of Laramie still fighting their own history…their own story,” continued playwright Leigh Fondakowski.

Actors Theatre of Louisville is joining over 100 theatres in all 50 states and across the world premiering a stage reading of the Tectonic Theatre Project’s The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, an epilogue to the original theatre piece.

The evening will commence with a live Lincoln Center webcast address from Kaufman, followed by the Actors Theatre’s 2009/2010 Acting Apprentice Company reading of the piece.

The night concludes with a panel discussion led by the Fairness Campaign addressing the importance of Hate Crimes legislation protecting LGBTQ individuals, and what citizens can do to make the passage of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act a reality.

Birthday girl and C-FAIR Co-chair Dawn Wilson will be taking part in the post performance panel discussion along with Director Michael Legg, Chris Hartman, Director of the Fairness Campaign, Michael Aldridge, Director of the ACLU-KY and a student leader from the University of Louisville.

Should be an enjoyable and informative evening at Actor's Theatre.

TLDEF and Green Family Statement on Sentencing in Lateisha Green Trial

The Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) today welcomed Judge William Walsh's sentencing of convicted killer Dwight R. DeLee to the maximum term of 25 years in prison in connection with the shooting death of Lateisha Green. Green, a 22-year-old African American transgender woman was shot and killed by DeLee on Nov. 14, 2008 in Syracuse, NY.

On July 17, a 12-member jury found 20-year-old DeLee guilty of manslaughter in the first degree as a hate crime and criminal possession of a weapon. DeLee's conviction for committing a hate crime is the first involving the death of a transgender person in New York State. It is only the second such conviction in United States history. In addition to the sentence for manslaughter, DeLee was sentenced to a concurrent term of 3 1/2 to 7 years in prison on the weapon possession conviction.

"Today, a measure of justice has been delivered for Lateisha Green and her family with the imposition of the maximum sentence for this crime," said TLDEF Executive Director and attorney Michael Silverman. "While nothing can make up for the loss Lateisha's family has suffered, this sentence helps to bring some closure to Lateisha's family. The sentence sends a clear message that violence targeted at transgender people will be heavily penalized."

Silverman has been working with the family since Lateisha's death in November. He was on the ground in Syracuse throughout the trial working closely with Lateisha's family. TLDEF collaborated with its sister organizations, including the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the Empire State Pride Agenda and the Rainbow Alliance of Central New York.

"Transgender Americans continue to face a serious risk of violence and discrimination. African American transgender women are at particularly high risk," added Silverman. "Neither New York State law nor federal law includes gender identity or expression as hate crime categories and that sends a dangerous message that it is acceptable to leave part of our community vulnerable to hateful acts of violence simply because of who they are. We call upon our state and federal lawmakers to ensure adoption of transgender-inclusive legislation that will protect everyone regardless of their gender identity and gender expression."

Following the sentencing, Lateisha Green's family released this statement:

Today’s sentencing sends a clear message that violence motivated by anti-transgender bias is unacceptable and wrong. It affects everyone in a community and it has left many hurt and distraught. We can only hope that Teish’s story will prevent any more loss of life simply because someone is different.

It has been a little over nine months since Teish was taken away from us. On November 14, 2008, Dwight DeLee aimed a rifle and shot Teish. All it took was one bullet to pierce her heart. That one bullet ended Teish’s life and all of the possibilities that could have been a part of her future.

That one bullet took away our brave and beloved family member and friend. But it also pierced our hearts and left us all feeling fearful, sad and angry. All of our hopes and dreams that we had for Teish were taken away from us simply because Teish was transgender. One bullet shattered all of our lives.

Every possibility for Teish slipped away when Dwight DeLee shot and killed her. But today’s sentencing by the judge has left us to believe that new possibilities have replaced old ones. A possibility to begin a conversation for reconciliation and understanding in Syracuse. A possibility to pass state and federal laws that would protect everyone from this kind of violence. A possibility to share Teish’s story so that nobody will ever have to know the feeling of losing a child because of that child's gender identity.

We want to thank everyone who supported our family during this difficult process and helped us to share Teish’s story. No legal proceeding can provide full closure for us. But we know that closure will come into our hearts as we continue to share this story with the world. We can only hope that more conversations about Teish and her life will prevent another bullet from taking another life. Though Teish left us 9 months ago, she has given us all the possibility to work towards a better tomorrow.

Thank you.