Lynch Law U.S.A.: State Defends Murderer of Trayvon Martin (tags)
Outrage over the murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin compounds daily as the killer remains free, facing no criminal charges for gunning down the unarmed black youth from Miami Gardens, Florida. On February 26, George Zimmerman, a white self-appointed captain of a "neighborhood watch" team in a gated community in the Orlando suburb of Sanford, shot Martin, a black high-school student, who was returning to the home in the development where he and his father were staying. Police and local prosecutors never charged Zimmerman and accepted his cynical claim that he shot the unarmed youth in "self-defense." Thousands have demonstrated around the country, particularly after police tapes of 911 calls by Zimmerman were released, showing that he was stalking Martin. But the main thrust of liberals is to divert the protests into a movement for gun control laws and to get rid of "Stand Your Ground" laws such as Florida's which make it legal to shoot in self-defense. The ruling-class response deliberately tries to obscure the key fact that this was racist murder. Trayvon Martin was killed for the "crime" of "walking while black."
Diversionary's "Next Fall": Fun and Thought-Provoking (tags)
"Next Fall," playing through March 25 at Diversionary Theatre in University Heights, San Diego, is a sometimes funny, sometimes wrenching, sometimes thought-provoking play in which an auto accident involving one member of a Gay male couple provokes confrontations between his partner and his blood family and triggers a series of flashbacks highlighting the conflict of faith between the victim, a devout born-again Christian, and his non-believing lover.
Over 200 Turn Out for Matthew Shepard Memorial in San Diego (tags)
Over 200 San Diegans marched in Hillcrest October 12, 2010 to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the death of Matthew Shepard, target of an especially brutal Queer-bashing attack in Wyoming, and to honor the lives lost to Queer-bashing, bullying and teen suicide. The event featured two marches, a preliminary rally outside Obelisk Bookstore (site of a memorial plaque to John Robert Wear, 17-year-old killed in a Queer-related assault in 1991) and a program at San Diego’s LGBT Center that featured speakers including Terry Summers, a personal acquaintance of Matthew Shepard.
Will Congress Criminalize Anti-Semitism and Israeli Criticism (tags)
criminalizing dissent
Fred Phelps Brings Road Show of Hate to San Diego; 500 Protest Against Him (tags)
Fred Phelps, founder and pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas and a man so far on the fringes of the radical religious Right even the late Rev. Jerry Falwell called him “a certified nut,” brought his nationwide road show of hate to San Diego the weekend of October 16-18. Along with a number of synagogues and Jewish community groups, one of his picketing targets was San Diego High School for its alleged tolerance and acceptance of Queer students. A counter-protest drew 500 people as opposed to the 10 or so Westboro Baptist Church members on the opposite side of Park Boulevard from the school.
How the Gay Community Got Chicago'd at the Inaugural (tags)
Back in the days of the first Mayor Richard Daley, when an alderman got out of line during a City Council debate, the power on his microphone was unceremoniously cut, whether he had the floor legitimately or not.
San Diego Hosts Transgender Day of Remembrance (tags)
San Diego commemorated the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance Nov. 20 with a candlelight march through the streets of Hillcrest and a rally at the LGBT Community Center. The program featured community volunteers (pictured) reading the names of this year's 15 known victims of Trans-related murders and brief accounts of how each died.
SEVEN THOUSAND Lashes and Twenty Blows to the Head (tags)
Let me remind everyone of a very vital detail that has gone unprinted and unsaid in all the emails and newsprint over the last week---the appointed President Bu$h WILL NOT SIGN ANY BILL NAMED "ENDA" THAT HAS ANY GLBT FRIENDLESSNESS IN IT, EITHER WITH A T OR WITHOUT A T! And any bill that should be passed will NOT have the votes to override the veto roadblock.
LA Transgenders Remember Gwen, Other Tragedies & Triumps of 2002-2003 (tags)
As the October 3 one year anniversay of the brutal slaying of Bay Area Transgender teen Gwen Araujo is remembered, Los Angeles' large community can recall other tragedies, and triumphs of the past year.
These people are victims too. (tags)
Hate crimes have rendered some murders meaningless.
Over 700 Bid Farwell to Slain Transgender Teen (tags)
Over 700 family, friends and transgenders gave a solemn farwell Friday to Gwen Lida Araujo, the 17 year old transgender woman who was brutally murdered in an Oct. 3 hate crime in Northern California.
Hate Crime Wave Drifts North: Bay Area Teens Slay Transgender Girl, Age 17 (tags)
The recent wave of hate crimes against queer folk has worsened, and spread to Northern California, as the following LA Times story reports: