VIGIL to Remember Gay Teen Jorge Lopez Mercado

Stop the Slaughter

A Vigil will be held in Philadelphia on Friday evening, November 20th to remember 19-year-old Jorge Lopez Mercado. Lopez, a Puerto Rican native was found partially burned, decapitated and with arms and legs dismembered, on the side of the road near his home town Caguas, Puerto Rico on Saturday, November 14th.

The Vigil will be held at the Church of St. Luke and The Epiphany, 330 South 13th Street in Philadelphia from 6:30 to 7 p.m.

Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender organizations, activists and allies are invited. The Vigil will include the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus, Gloria Casarez, LGBT Liaison to Mayor Nutter, Cynthia Vasquez, youth activist at the Gay and Lesbian Latino AIDS Education Initiative (GALAEI), and Malcolm Lazin , Executive Director of Equality Forum.

There were 29 gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) hate crime murders in the United States in 2008.

“We must stop the homophobic slaughter,” stated Malcolm Lazin , Executive Director of Equality Forum. “Since Matthew Shepard’s murder in 1998, there have been over 16,000 gay hate crimes, and on average, about 1,450 GLBT hate crimes per year.”

Police have identified a suspect in the murder of Jorge Lopez Mercado. According to Puerto Rican activists, gay hate crimes in Puerto Rico are not prosecuted.

“We call on US Attorney General Holder to investigate and prosecute in federal court this horrific crime,” stated Lazin. “The decapitation and dismemberment of Jorge Lopez Mercado reminds America that we need to eliminate homophobia in our schools, communities and culture.”

There will also be a Vigil in New York City on Sunday, November 22nd. “It is our hope that communities around the nation will hold Vigils to remember Jorge and that his memory will be a call to conscience,” said Lazin.

Equality Forum is a national and international GLBT civil rights organization with an educational focus. Equality Forum coordinates GLBT History Month, produces documentary films, undertakes high impact initiatives and presents annually the largest national and international GLBT civil rights forum.

www.equalityforum.com


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Brain maturation may be defense in teen's murder trial

by Tom Kisken
Ventura County Star

The studies show brain maturation continues many years longer than scientists once thought. Researchers think an overabundance of gray matter and still-strengthening connections between different parts of the brain may influence how teens behave, though the exact link isn't understood.

A tug-of-war over whether the science belongs in the courtroom seems likely to emerge in the nationally publicized case of Brandon McInerney. The 14-year-old from Oxnard is set to be tried as an adult in the classroom killing of Larry King, a 15-year-old who sometimes wore lipstick and told friends he was gay.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Maeve Fox said the decision to try McInerney as an adult could be reviewed if compelling evidence is presented. She said she doesn't know much about brain maturation research, comparing it to the lawyers who years ago brought brain images from scans known as positron emission tomography or PET. All she saw were charts with pretty colors.

"A lot of trendy medical procedures have come and gone as far as potential defenses to crime without ever having validated themselves," she said.

full article

Activist Melton-Smyth remembered for her vigor, infectious wit

by Steven Elbow; Bill Novak - The Capital Times - Madison, WI

Felicia Melton-Smyth was one of those people who take up a cause and make a difference.
And despite the fact that she stood out in a crowd, she did it largely unheralded.

Melton-Smyth, 41, was stabbed to death in her hotel room Monday while vacationing with a group of friends in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. She was a volunteer with the AIDS Network in Madison for more than a decade, and her death left her friends speechless.

A news story from Mexico reported a suspect, 36-year-old Francisco Javier Hoyos Reyes, has been arrested for the murder. The story said robbery appeared to be the motive in the slaying.

more

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Voicings 2008 reveals hate crimes in 'Licensed to Kill'

The darkened room at the Paramount was so silent Tuesday night that if a pin dropped, the sound would have echoed and bounced around the theatre like a super ball flying out of control.

The audience had just viewed Arthur Dong's 1997 award winning documentary, "Licensed to Kill," a film which explores seven separate stories of men who murdered gay men. The stories were told, at times hauntingly unapologetic, by the murderers themselves.

"It was disturbing," Ryan Schoenefeld said in the lobby after the film ended in the Paramount.

Schoenefeld said it was ridiculous that there are people in society who would murder people on the basis of their victims' sexual orientation."

I wonder how people become that crazy. Are they a product of their environment or are they naturally like that?" Schoenefeld said.

"It was interesting how some of the people felt bad for what they did," said Ashley Robertson, another audience member, referring to some of the film's interviewees admitting regret for their actions in the film.

Robertson also said she was disturbed by the other side of that coin; that some of the murderers had absolutely no remorse for their brutal actions.

The murderers interviewed hailed from all parts of the United States and all had various reasons for what they did. Some used religious excuses, others had political agendas, two claimed to have been molested as children and some did it out of pure hatred for gay and lesbian people.

As to how truthful the murderers were in their interviews, Dong said he just let them tell their side.

One man interviewed claimed his niece was raped by a group of gay men."

Every time I see that part I think 'I doubt that,'" Dong said chuckling a little bit after.

"You hear people say every day 'that's gay.' Kids say it a lot. How is that going to make a kid in a group who is a homosexual feel?" Dong said.

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In Memory of Daniel A. Yakovleff

Daniel A. Yakovleff, known as Dan, was a 20 year old gay man who styled hair at the popular Liquid Hair Salon in Boston's South End. He was well known and liked by the local community, particularly the young gay community who frequent local establishments such as Tremont 647 and the Eagle. Dan was last seen leaving the Eagle on Wednesday night, and was found stabbed in a Dorchester apartment early Thursday (Jan. 17) morning.


Family and friends are in shock and continue to struggle to figure out who would target Dan and why. Everyone who knew Dan would say he was one of the most non-violent, positive people you'd ever meet. His gay friends and acquaintances have expressed concern that police may not take the situation as seriously as they should, given the circumstances, and many of us are feeling that this is a difficult reminder of the risk we take when we go home with someone we do not know.

"A memorial service for Daniel Yakovleff is scheduled for 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Knowlton Memorial Hall on Route 44, next to Ashford Town Hall. The family has asked that donations in Daniel's name be made to Joshua's Trust Gifts and Contributions, P.O. Box 4, Mansfield Center, CT 06250.'

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related story

Michigan gay activist Jeffrey Montgomery

Jeffrey Montgomery says he used to be a "mind your own business" kind of gay guy.

But that was before his boyfriend, Michael, was fatally shot outside a gay bar in Detroit.

"The police just didn't care. They had no intention of investigating what, to them, was just another gay homicide", he says.

Shocked and appalled, Montgomery began transforming himself into a "mind our own business" kind of gay guy.

That transformation led him in 1991 to help found the Detroit-based Triangle Foundation, named after the pink triangle that gay men were forced to wear in Nazi concentration camps.

Sixteen years later, the Triangle Foundation has a $1 million budget, 10 staffers and a new branch in conservative Grand Rapids.

Now, sadly, the executive director who became the face and voice for so many gay and transgender people too fearful -- or just too preoccupied -- to stand up for themselves has decided it's time to pass the baton.

In 2006 Montgomery was awarded the Liberty Bell Award. He was nominated by the Stonewall Bar Association. He has a national reputation and regularly provides commentary and witness on the evolving gay culture and the myriad issues related to the safety and equality of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.

In May 2003, Gov. Jennifer Granholm honored Montgomery's work with a special tribute, calling him a "hero and a living legend." He has received accolades too numerous to mention and serves on many boards and organizations, including being a co-chair and spokesperson for the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs.

Growing up gay in Jamaica - Q&A

Gay rights may be spreading in many countries, but not in Jamaica. Violence against gay men is high, and police often look the other way, say activists. When Brian Williamson, Jamaica’s leading gay rights activist, was murdered in June 2004, a crowd gathered outside the crime scene to celebrate.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20644162/site/newsweek/
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