{"article":{"id":69907,"heading":"Transphobia","author":"scha-la","created":"2003-07-05 19:37:31","modified":"2013-11-11 00:23:36","last_modified":"Mon, 11 Nov 2013 07:23:36","article":"

We posted information about a transgender contingent in the LA Pride Parade. They transfolks & allies were going to march behind a banner which read \"How Many Transgenders Have To Die Before You Get Involved?\". The reason for this is because there are a discusting about of murders in the community, and very little support from the gay community, straight folks, or law enforcement. Someone responded to this post with this comment: \"8\" meaning, of course, that 8 transpeople have to die before s\/he gets involved. I am hereby proiding a list with far more than 8 people, and if anyone knows this person who posts under the name \"Lexi\", please let him or her know that we have lot of work to be done and any help would be appreciated.

Here's an abbreviated list. I'm pretty sure that if this was a list of blacks being lynched, we'd respond as a community... Why is this different?

Gwen Araujo

Location: Newark, California

Cause of Death: Beaten to death, allegedly by four ex-classmates.

Date of Death: October 3, 2002

Source: San Francisco Chronicle, October 17, 2002

Gwen Araujo had been dressing as a woman since she was 14 years old, and was murdered at the age of 17. During a house party, she was revealed to have been more a male. After this revelation, at least three individuals allegedly beat her, dragged her into a garage, and strangled her, before disposing of her body in a remote location 150 miles away.

Ontwon Curtis

Location: Newport News, Virginia

Cause of Death: Shot several times in the chest

Date of Death: September 13, 2002

Source: WVEC Channel 13, September 13, 2002

Ontwon Curtis, who neighbors claim was a transvestite, was shot several times in the chest while at home. Andrew Coleman has been arrested in this crime, and is awaiting trial.

Daniel Phillip \"Danielle\" Redding

Location: Daytona Beach, Florida

Cause of Death: Single gunshot wound to the head, allegedly by Jason Lee Starkey

Date of Death: September 7, 2002

Source: Daytona Beach News-Journal, September 23, 2002

Daniel Phillip \"Danielle\" Redding worked at a hair salon by day, and as a sex worker in the evening. He was found face down with a bullet hole in his head in a vacant lot near a church. The alleged killer, Jason Lee Starkey, was shot and killed two weeks later.

Porfiro Mejia (aka Daisey, Flora Blanca)

Location: Delano, California

Cause of Death: Blunt force trauma to the head.

Date of Death: August 20, 2002

Source: The Bakersfield Californian, October 25, 2002

Little is known about this death. Mejia, a transwoman, used to frequent some of the bars in the Delano area. She was found in a grape vineyard just south of Delano.

Stephanie Thomas

Location: Washington, DC

Cause of Death: Shot multiple times

Date of Death: August 12, 2002

Source: WJLA ABC 7, Washington, DC

Stephanie and Ukea were friends living in Washington, D.C., and had begun living in their preferred gender roles. Both were shot multiple times in a car they often shared. They were half a block away from home.

Ukea Davis

Location: Washington, DC

Cause of Death: Shot multiple times

Date of Death: August 12, 2002

Source: WJLA ABC 7, Washington, DC

Deasha (Gerald Andrews)

Location: Jacksonville, Florida

Cause of Death: Shot multiple times

Date of Death: August 8, 2002

Source: WLTV 12, Jacksonville, Florida

Deasha Andrews was discovered in her car, after having been shot several times. Police are not pursuing this as a hate crime, and do not feel that there is any tie-in between it and the Terrianne Summers case.

Paola Matos

Location: Brooklyn, New York

Cause of Death: Strangled

Date of Death: July 22, 2002

Source: The New York Post, July 23, 2002

Paola Matos had recently moved to New York after a series of transsexual-related surgeries done abroad. She was discovered in her home by her live-in boyfriend with a white cord wrapped around her throat. Police have ruled her death a homicide, and are seeking a suspect, Fernando Batista.

Aretha \"ReRe\" Scott (Franklin Freeman)

Location: Charlotte, North Carolina

Cause of Death: Bled to death after being shot in the leg

Date of Death: June 7, 2002

Source: The Charlotte Observer, June 30, 2002

Five months before Aretha Scott’s death, she was picked up by an off-duty vice officer, who fired his service pistol twice during an argument over money. The officer quit during an internal investigation. Another officer was fired, and two other officers were suspended. Scott was killed five days before she was to be a witness in a hearing about one of the suspensions. Very little has been done since them to apprehend her murderer.

Gary \"Brazon\" McMurtry

Location: Clintonville, Ohio

Cause of Death: Stabbed, allegedly by Michael Jennings

Date of Death: May 17, 2002

Source: Columbus Dispatch, May 18, 2002

Gary \"Brazon\" McMurtry, Miss Gay Columbus and Miss Gay Ohio, was stabbed with a Samurai sword, allegedly by Michael Jennings. A roommate was also stabbed by the assailant.

Arlene (Hector) Diaz

Location: El Paso, Texas

Cause of Death: Shot in the back, allegedly by Justen Grant Hall

Date of Death: April 10, 2002

Source: El Paso Times, April 27, 2002

Arlene (Hector) Diaz was planning her upcoming transition, and attended a local transgender support group the night of her murder. She was fatally shot in the back, allegedly by Justen Grant Hall. The local police have classified this murder as a hate crime.

Alejandro Ray Lucero

Location: Phoenix, Arizona

Cause of Death: Murdered

Date of Death: March 3, 2002

Source: Phoenix, Arizona police report

Little is known about the death of Alejandro Ray Lucero, aside from the fact that she was murdered in Phoenix, and her body was dumped in the alley.

Amy Soos

Location: Phoenix, Arizona

Cause of Death: Murdered

Date of Death: February 16, 2002

Source: Phoenix, Arizona police report

Amy Soos lived all her life on the Salt River Pima Indian Reservation in Arizona, but often went into Phoenix in the evenings. After not returning home one such night, her body was discovered in a roadway. She died of multiple blunt force trauma. She had been beaten many other times before her death.

Bibi Barajas (Hugo Cesar Barajas)

Location: Houston, Texas

Cause of Death: Shot multiple times

Date of Death: January 26, 2002

Source: KTRK News and Vanessa Foster

Bibi Barajas was a sex worker in Houston, after coming over the border from Mexico. She is believed to have been killed by some of her customers, who dumped her body near a local club.

Terrianne Summers

Location: Jacksonville, Florida

Cause of Death: Shot

Date of Death: December 12, 2001

Source: Florida Times-Union, December 14, 2001

Terrianne Summers was a transgender activist in the Jacksonville area, who had been very involved in efforts against discrimination at the Winn-Dixie food chain. She was shot to death on her own front yard days after participating in the 2001 Transgender Day of Remembrance in Florida.

Gwen Araujo

Location: Newark, California

Cause of Death: Beaten to death, allegedly by four ex-classmates.

Date of Death: October 3, 2002

Source: San Francisco Chronicle, October 17, 2002

Gwen Araujo had been dressing as a woman since she was 14 years old, and was murdered at the age of 17. During a house party, she was revealed to have been more a male. After this revelation, at least three individuals allegedly beat her, dragged her into a garage, and strangled her, before disposing of her body in a remote location 150 miles away.

Ontwon Curtis

Location: Newport News, Virginia

Cause of Death: Shot several times in the chest

Date of Death: September 13, 2002

Source: WVEC Channel 13, September 13, 2002

Ontwon Curtis, who neighbors claim was a transvestite, was shot several times in the chest while at home. Andrew Coleman has been arrested in this crime, and is awaiting trial.

Daniel Phillip \"Danielle\" Redding

Location: Daytona Beach, Florida

Cause of Death: Single gunshot wound to the head, allegedly by Jason Lee Starkey

Date of Death: September 7, 2002

Source: Daytona Beach News-Journal, September 23, 2002

Daniel Phillip \"Danielle\" Redding worked at a hair salon by day, and as a sex worker in the evening. He was found face down with a bullet hole in his head in a vacant lot near a church. The alleged killer, Jason Lee Starkey, was shot and killed two weeks later.

Porfiro Mejia (aka Daisey, Flora Blanca)

Location: Delano, California

Cause of Death: Blunt force trauma to the head.

Date of Death: August 20, 2002

Source: The Bakersfield Californian, October 25, 2002

Little is known about this death. Mejia, a transwoman, used to frequent some of the bars in the Delano area. She was found in a grape vineyard just south of Delano.

Stephanie Thomas

Location: Washington, DC

Cause of Death: Shot multiple times

Date of Death: August 12, 2002

Source: WJLA ABC 7, Washington, DC

Stephanie and Ukea were friends living in Washington, D.C., and had begun living in their preferred gender roles. Both were shot multiple times in a car they often shared. They were half a block away from home.

Ukea Davis

Location: Washington, DC

Cause of Death: Shot multiple times

Date of Death: August 12, 2002

Source: WJLA ABC 7, Washington, DC

Deasha (Gerald Andrews)

Location: Jacksonville, Florida

Cause of Death: Shot multiple times

Date of Death: August 8, 2002

Source: WLTV 12, Jacksonville, Florida

Deasha Andrews was discovered in her car, after having been shot several times. Police are not pursuing this as a hate crime, and do not feel that there is any tie-in between it and the Terrianne Summers case.

Paola Matos

Location: Brooklyn, New York

Cause of Death: Strangled

Date of Death: July 22, 2002

Source: The New York Post, July 23, 2002

Paola Matos had recently moved to New York after a series of transsexual-related surgeries done abroad. She was discovered in her home by her live-in boyfriend with a white cord wrapped around her throat. Police have ruled her death a homicide, and are seeking a suspect, Fernando Batista.

Aretha \"ReRe\" Scott (Franklin Freeman)

Location: Charlotte, North Carolina

Cause of Death: Bled to death after being shot in the leg

Date of Death: June 7, 2002

Source: The Charlotte Observer, June 30, 2002

Five months before Aretha Scott’s death, she was picked up by an off-duty vice officer, who fired his service pistol twice during an argument over money. The officer quit during an internal investigation. Another officer was fired, and two other officers were suspended. Scott was killed five days before she was to be a witness in a hearing about one of the suspensions. Very little has been done since them to apprehend her murderer.

Gary \"Brazon\" McMurtry

Location: Clintonville, Ohio

Cause of Death: Stabbed, allegedly by Michael Jennings

Date of Death: May 17, 2002

Source: Columbus Dispatch, May 18, 2002

Gary \"Brazon\" McMurtry, Miss Gay Columbus and Miss Gay Ohio, was stabbed with a Samurai sword, allegedly by Michael Jennings. A roommate was also stabbed by the assailant.

Arlene (Hector) Diaz

Location: El Paso, Texas

Cause of Death: Shot in the back, allegedly by Justen Grant Hall

Date of Death: April 10, 2002

Source: El Paso Times, April 27, 2002

Arlene (Hector) Diaz was planning her upcoming transition, and attended a local transgender support group the night of her murder. She was fatally shot in the back, allegedly by Justen Grant Hall. The local police have classified this murder as a hate crime.

Alejandro Ray Lucero

Location: Phoenix, Arizona

Cause of Death: Murdered

Date of Death: March 3, 2002

Source: Phoenix, Arizona police report

Little is known about the death of Alejandro Ray Lucero, aside from the fact that she was murdered in Phoenix, and her body was dumped in the alley.

Amy Soos

Location: Phoenix, Arizona

Cause of Death: Murdered

Date of Death: February 16, 2002

Source: Phoenix, Arizona police report

Amy Soos lived all her life on the Salt River Pima Indian Reservation in Arizona, but often went into Phoenix in the evenings. After not returning home one such night, her body was discovered in a roadway. She died of multiple blunt force trauma. She had been beaten many other times before her death.

Bibi Barajas (Hugo Cesar Barajas)

Location: Houston, Texas

Cause of Death: Shot multiple times

Date of Death: January 26, 2002

Source: KTRK News and Vanessa Foster

Bibi Barajas was a sex worker in Houston, after coming over the border from Mexico. She is believed to have been killed by some of her customers, who dumped her body near a local club.

Terrianne Summers

Location: Jacksonville, Florida

Cause of Death: Shot

Date of Death: December 12, 2001

Source: Florida Times-Union, December 14, 2001

Terrianne Summers was a transgender activist in the Jacksonville area, who had been very involved in efforts against discrimination at the Winn-Dixie food chain. She was shot to death on her own front yard days after participating in the 2001 Transgender Day of Remembrance in Florida.

http:\/\/www.gender.org\/remember\/day\/<\/a>



<\/p>\n","contact":"scha_la@yahoo.com","link":"","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/plain","summary":"I can't believe the amount of transphobia I read on this site.","numcomment":3,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/","filesize":null,"article_url":"\/news\/2003\/07\/69907.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[{"id":69909,"heading":"didn't spell check","article":"An apology to the reader who can't help but notice that I didn't spell check before I posted this story. Please accept my apologies.","author":"scha_la","parent_id":69907,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-07-05 19:39:47","modified":"2003-07-05 19:39:47","fileurl":""},{"id":69964,"heading":"Thanks","article":"Sister:\r\n\r\nAs one who marched in the Trans contigent at Chrsitopher Street West June 22 and part of the managing collective of LA Indy Media I'd like to thank you, Sch_la, for your posting of the names and bios.\r\n\r\nIt's important that people know this is a serious matter.\r\n\r\nAn even more hateful comment was posted after I posted the announcement for June 22.\r\n\r\nBy contrast, the crowd response at the parade was great, and there was footage on at least one of the local news at 5 pm. I think our efforts are educating those with open minds.\r\n\r\nCarolina","author":"Carolina","parent_id":69907,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-07-05 21:46:35","modified":"2003-07-05 21:46:35","fileurl":""},{"id":69967,"heading":"Hate crimes","article":"Are you advocating hate crime status?\r\n\r\nPlease help me to understand something. Imagine a thug calls my transgender brother a transgender-oriented obscenity and shoots him in the head. Then another thug calls my father a white-guy obscenity and shoots him in the head.\r\n\r\nAre you advocating that the thug who killed my father should get off easy compared to the thug who killed my brother?\r\n\r\n","author":"Confused","parent_id":69907,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-07-05 21:51:43","modified":"2003-07-05 21:51:43","fileurl":""}]}