Event marks first time a gay exhibit has been in state’s rotunda
Gay American Heroes, the traveling monument that memorializes gay men and women who have been killed due to homophobic violence, is scheduled to be displayed in the Florida Capitol Rotunda April 28.
According to organizers, the exhibit marks the first time a gay-friendly display will be exhibited inside the hall that overlooks the entrance to the chambers of the Florida House of Representatives and Senate. The date of the exhibit, April 28, also marks the birthday of Ryan Skipper, a gay college student who was murdered last year in Polk County, Fla., in what police described as an anti-gay hate crime. Skipper would have turned 28 on the date of the exhibit.
Equality Florida and the Gay American Heroes Foundation are planning the Rotunda exhibit to emphasize the need for the safe schools legislation that prevents school bullying.
Parents to speak at capitol Representatives of Equality Florida and the Gay American Heroes Foundation will be in the Rotunda talking about anti-gay hate crimes and passing out birthday cake in honor of Skipper. The groups will also organize a press conference that will feature Skipper’s parents, Lynn and Patricia Mulder. Denise King, mother of Simmie Williams, a gay Fort Lauderdale teen who was murdered in February, may also participate.
The monument features the names, pictures and stories of more than 500 people who were killed in homophobic hate crimes. Recent inductees include Lawrence King, the 15-year-old who was shot and killed in school in California, and Simmie Williams, the 17-year-old who was killed on Sistrunk Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale.
Lynn Mulder said he and his wife, Skipper’s mother, Patricia, are excited to hear that the display will be held on Skipper’s birthday. The event was originally planned for April 21 but had to be moved.
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