Tag Archives: hate crimes

Guilty Plea In Federal Hate Crime Case

For the second time since the adoption of the Matthew Shepard Act, the federal government has won a conviction for an anti-gay hate crime. Via White House press release: Everett Dwayne Avery, 36, of Detroit, Mich., pleaded guilty in federal court today to a federal hate crime, admitting that he assaulted a victim because he believed the victim was gay, …

Read More »

The Gay Tawana Brawley

As you’d expect, anti-gay hate groups and Tea Party websites are doing cartwheels over this disgusting revelation, which already has multiple entries on Free Republic and is the subject of screaming tabloid headlines. I never reported the story at the time because I felt it stunk from the get-go and told my Facebook followers exactly that. Thanks to idiots like …

Read More »

Ohio Pastor: My Church Was Burned Down Because It Accepts LGBT Members

After the fire that destroyed his historic church was ruled to be arson, an Ohio pastor says he’s certain the attack came because of his welcoming of LGBT members. The Rev. Scott Davis bought the church in 2010 and opened it to the community for services in 2011. Davis said he suspects arson because he has received many death threats …

Read More »

SOUTH AFRICA: Lesbian Beaten Unconscious By Security Guards After Kissing Girlfriend At Shopping Center

A South African lesbian woman says she was beaten unconscious by shopping mall security guards after they saw her kiss her girlfriend goodbye. “I accompany her to work every morning,” said Khanyisa Ndoda, 21. “And every morning I give her a goodbye kiss. “But as we kissed that day, we heard these guys saying ‘Some people will never reach heaven’ …

Read More »

OKLAHOMA: Gay Man Injured After His Car Was Firebombed In Hate Crime

An Oklahoma gay man says he was nearly killed this weekend after vandals scrawled “fag” on his car and set it ablaze. It happened the morning of Saturday, July 21, in an alley behind his home on N.W. 140th Street near Western and Memorial in Oklahoma City. Jon Ferguson says his car alarm woke him up and when he walked …

Read More »

Gay DC Couple Bashed In Hate Crime

Washington DC police are investigating an attack on a local gay couple who was attacked by a mob as they walked home. Investigators say they suspect the assault was hate-motivated as the assailants “did not ask for anything and did not take anything.” Michael Joel Hall and his partner, Michael Roike, were jumped by a gang of men as they …

Read More »

NEW YORK CITY: 14 Year-Old Brooklyn Student Blinded In Gay Bashing

The parents of a 14 year-old Brooklyn boy say they will sue the city after their son was blinded in one eye during a brutal anti-gay attack by two fellow students. Kardin Ulysse, 14, has undergone two surgeries on his right eye since the June 5 beatdown at Roy H. Mann Junior High School in Bergen Beach. It is unclear …

Read More »

Full Movie: The Laramie Project

Posted to YouTube today in its entirety. Moisés Kaufman and members of New York’s Tectonic Theater Project went to Laramie, Wyoming after the murder of Matthew Shepard. This is a film version of the play they wrote based on more than 200 interviews they conducted in Laramie. It follows and in some cases re-enacts the chronology of Shepard’s visit to …

Read More »

2011: Most Anti-LGBT Murders Ever

The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Projects today issued a report containing the grim news that last year more LGBT people were murdered in hate crimes than in any year since the group began keeping records. The 2011 report also highlights a number of disturbing trends concerning the severity of violence experienced by LGBTQH people. This year’s report shows that LGBTQH …

Read More »

MINNESOTA: Gay Man Beaten By Mob At High School Graduation Party

Two men are under arrest after a Duluth, Minnesota gay man was attacked by as many as nine males at a high school graduation party. Max Pelofske, 21, of Duluth, said he came to a party at the pit to offer his congratulations to a friend’s sister, who will graduate from Proctor High School in several days. The friend, Kelly …

Read More »

ARMENIA: Bar Bombed Over Owner’s Participation In A Gay Pride Parade

Last week a gay-friendly bar in Armenia was fire-bombed, reportedly because the owner is an LGBT rights activist who once marched in a gay pride parade. The suspects have been bailed out by members of parliament. A homemade bomb this month targeted a bar, called “DIY,” which is seen as a haven for “free thinkers” and welcomes the often-shunned gay …

Read More »

FLORIDA: Feds May Add Hate Crime Charge For George Zimmerman

The FBI is considering adding a federal hate crime charge to the murder charge already filed by the state of Florida against George Zimmerman. FBI investigators are actively questioning witnesses in the retreat at the Twin Lakes neighborhood, seeking evidence for a possible federal hate crime charge. Martin was unarmed when he was shot to death, police said, and some …

Read More »

KENTUCKY: Guilty Pleas In First-Ever Federal Anti-Gay Hate Crime Prosecution

Two of the teenagers charged in the nation’s first-ever federal anti-gay hate crime case pleaded guilty today in a Kentucky court. Alexis Leeann Jenkins and Mable Ashley Jenkins, who goes by Ashley, pleaded guilty to one charge of kidnapping and one charge of aiding others in causing bodily injury to Kevin Pennington of Letcher County because he is gay. The …

Read More »

Photo Of The Day

Andre Noel Denny, the suspected murderer of Canadian gay activist Raymond Taaval, reacted to cameras last night as he was led to his arraignment. Local activists are calling for the killing to be prosecuted as a hate crime as witnesses heard Denny shouting “Faggot!” as he repeatedly smashed Taaval’s head into the pavement. Denny has a history as a violent …

Read More »

NOVA SCOTIA: Hundreds Gather In Vigil For Slain Activist Raymond Taavel

Last night hundreds gathered for a vigil outside the Halifax gay bar near the spot where renowned activist Raymond Taavel was beaten to death in what appears to have been a homophobic hate crime. Witnesses reportedly told police they saw a man yelling “faggot” before getting into an altercation with two smaller men, one of whom fled. Police and emergency …

Read More »

Headline Of The Day

Talking Points Memo reports: For the first time in history, the United States has issued an indictment in hate crime case involving a crime against an individual based on their sexual orientation, the Justice Department said Thursday. A federal grand jury in London, Ky., returned a three-count indictment charging David Jason Jenkins, 37, and Anthony Ray Jenkins, 20, for kidnapping …

Read More »

Anti-Gay Violence Surges In Brazil

The Daily Beast reports on the surging number of anti-gay murders in Brazil: Though the overall crime rate is down sharply in major cities, murders of gays and lesbians are on the rise. It’s especially acute in the most populous areas: Bahia, Minas Gerais, and the cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo—precisely where police have made their biggest …

Read More »

MISSISSIPPI: Two Life Sentences For Teenage Killer Of Gay Black Man

A 19 year-old Mississippi man has pleaded guilty and received two life sentences for targeting a random black man for abuse and killing him with his pickup truck. It was later learned that the victim was gay and in a 17 year relationship. Deryl Dedmon, 19, of Brandon, Miss., apologized to the family of 49-year-old James Craig Anderson. While partying …

Read More »

OHIO: Amish Sect Seeks To Have Federal Hate Crimes Act Declared Unconstitional

In an Amish-on-Amish attack in Ohio last year, several men were assaulted and had their beards cut off, the ultimate insult in that community. Now charged with hate crimes, lawyers for the assailants are petitioning to overturn the federal Hate Crimes Act as unconstitutional. The attorneys, who have asked a judge to toss the charges, argued in recently filed court …

Read More »

MASSACHUSETTS: Lesbians Charged With Hate Crime For Assault On Gay Man

Three Massachusetts lesbians have been charged with a hate crime for assaulting a gay man as they shouted homophobic slurs. Their lawyer says the charge is ridiculous. “My guess is that no sane jury would convict them under those circumstances, but what this really demonstrates is the idiocy of the hate-crime legislation,” said civil liberties lawyer Harvey Silverglate. “If you …

Read More »