Tag Archives: hates crimes

“Oh, it didn’t pass? OK. So we still need to pass it? OK. So we’ll try to pass that one for you, too. But that’s why we need it. And of course Obama supports that, our Congress supports that, our Senate supports that. I thought we did pass it, so we will try to get that. But that’s exactly why …

The parents of murdered gay teen Lawrence King have sued the school district and Ventura Country, claiming that the school’s failure to force King to dress like a boy led to his killing. The boy’s parents, Dawn and Gregory King, along with his younger brother, Rocky King, are seeking unspecified damages related to the fatal shooting of the 15-year-old boy …

The Democrats’ ploy of attaching the federal hates crimes bill (the Matthew Shepard Act) as an amendment to a Department of Defense appropriations bill did not work because the Dems also attached an amendment requiring troops to pull out of Iraq by May 1, prompting Republicans to plan a filibuster on the item. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) pulled …

All four assailants charged in last summer’s brutal assault of drag entertainer Kevin Aviance pled guilty in NYC court today, receiving prison sentences ranging from 6 to 15 years in plea agreements that included hate crimes embellishments. The four young men, who range in age from 17 to 21 years old, had faced up to 25 years each for the …

Yesterday, with the support of a broad coalition of professional organizations, including many law enforcement groups, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) introduced the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which will extend hate crimes protection to the LGBT community. Today the American Family Organization issued an action alert to stop the legislation, saying that the hate crimes …

The current issue of The Advocate features a joint column by HRC head Joe Solmonese and activist Judy Shepard calling for immediate action on a national hate crimes law, as this may be the best year to get such a bill passed. Fear of violence remains a horrible reality for millions of GLBT Americans—even in places that many consider “tolerant” …