September 28, 2007
Lane Hudson on ENDA, the HRC, and throwing transgenders under the bus:
While we should be celebrating a major advance [the Matthew Shepard Act] in the movement for equal rights, the celebration was considerably dampened by reports that Democratic Leadership in the House of Representatives was considering dropping trans-inclusive language from the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. The Washington Blade broke the story yesterday.
. . .
All of this boils down to whether we should sacrifice transgender inclusion in the ENDA legislation in order to pass a bill in the immediate future. For me, the answer is simple. No one should be left behind at the convenience of others. It is a moral obligation and a defining moment in the movement for equal rights under the law. …
. . .
Regarding the more comprehensive version of ENDA, every major organization advocating equal rights for LGBT America unequivocally and immediately expressed their opposition to dropping the trans-inclusive language and opposition to any bill not containing the language — every major organization except for the Human Rights Campaign.
There are conflicting reports as the action they will take. Some reports indicate a split between the staff and the board. …
. . .
That it appears they are questioning their policy of opposing the exclusion of transgender people from equality in the workplace is a very bad sign. …
Sapphocrat says:
It’s crunch time, kids. I don’t know about you, but I see one (and only one) good thing to come from this: It’s a test of our convictions. Are we LGB’s (and A’s) willing to stand with our transgender brothers and sisters, and risk losing ENDA altogether?
I am. I cannot accept anything less than full inclusion for TGs under ENDA. AFAIC, it’s all or nothing.
If ENDA passes without TG inclusion, it will be a pyrrhic victory.
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Employment/ENDA,
Hate Crimes,
LGBT Organizations,
Transgender,
U.S. Congress
Or: What the Radical Right Doesn’t Want You to Know, from Box Turtle Bulletin:
Reorientation, Old School Style
Pete Price is a radio personality in the UK. The Liverpool Echo has an extract of his autobiography Pete Price is a Namedropper. Price describes some of the methods used on him to cure his homosexuality:
In the morning I was shown into a windowless room with a male nurse. A crate of Guinness arrived, and I was given a stack of dirty magazines showing body builders – not the sort of thing that would have turned me on in a million years.
. . .
Then he gave me an injection and suddenly I started feeling sick.
“I think I’m going to vomit!” I yelled out. “I need a basin.”
The doctor smiled. “Then be sick.”
“I think I’m going to go to the toilet.”
“Just do it on the bed.”
I screamed: “You’re joking.”
. . .
When it ended, I lay there sobbing, the doctor came in.
“Now you’ve got to have the electrodes … ” he said. …
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"Ex-Gays",
Ex-"Ex-Gays",
Radical Religious Right
This is the sort of thing that damages the best-intentioned anti-discrimination laws:
Fingerprinted and Fined: Girl, 10, Who Crayoned on a Wall
Girl Guide Shannon Smith, 10, was fingerprinted by the police and fined £40 after marking a neighbour’s wall with crayon. The tearful little girl was also threatened with an Asbo.*
. . .
Police called at the family’s home after being told Shannon and her eight-year-old brother Aaron had written on a neighbour’s house. Aaron, who is below the age of criminal responsibility, was told off by an officer for scrawling “Harry Is Gay” about a playmate.
But the following morning at 7.30, the officer returned and questioned Shannon, who tearfully admitted she had written a three-inch “S” for Shannon in red crayon on the wall beneath Aaron’s graffiti. …
. . .
Sgt Paul Leigh, the town’s community engagement officer, said: “We are committed to tackling all reports of anti-social behaviour and remain victim-focused.”
* ASBO = in the UK & N. Ireland, an “Anti-Social Behaviour Order”
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Crime,
Random Stupidity,
United Kingdom & N.I.
From silive.com:
A gay police officer has filed a discrimination suit against the city and the New York Police Department, saying he was threatened with violence, called vulgar names and treated unfairly by supervisors because of his sexuality.
. . .
[Michael Harrington, 30], of Brooklyn, said in the suit that within months he overheard an officer in the men’s room referring to him as a “faggot.” Harrington spoke to the officer who said he would hurt Harrington if he confronted the officer again.
Court papers say Harrington also repeatedly sought a transfer from the 75th Precinct but his written applications “kept getting lost.” He was told that after he finally transferred out of the 75th Precinct, that someone posted obscene drawings of him in a sex act, the suit claimed.
. . .
Harrington says he complained to a supervisor about being mistreated and the supervisor said he was going to transfer him to the Sixth Precinct in Greenwich Village “so plaintiff could be with his people,” the suit said.
At the Sixth Precinct, court papers say, a co-worker told Harrington in December 2006 that “all faggots should be shot.”
Harrington was repeatedly denied a chance to work day shifts even after he explained to his supervisors that he needed to do so because hoped to adopt a child, according to court papers.
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Employment/ENDA,
Hate Speech,
Law Enforcement,
New York
Detective Takes Stand in Hate Crime Murder Trial
Detective Christopher Cennamo of the 61st Precinct Detective Squad took the stand yesterday in the hate crime murder trial of John Fox and Anthony Fortunato, both 21, who face murder charges in connection with the death of Michael Sandy.
. . .
After the NYPD’s technical squad retrieved an address book from the cell phone, Cennamo was able to call Sandy’s parents, eventually leading them to an apartment where police discovered Sandy had left his computer on.
That detail would prove key to breaking the case. …
. . .
Defense attorneys Gary DiChiara and John Patten had not gotten a chance to question Cennamo by the time state Supreme Court Justice Jill Konviser’s call for a recess concluded yesterday’s morning session. …
. . .
Testimony is expected to continue this morning in the ceremonial courtroom at Brooklyn Supreme Court.
See also:
Suspect sought ‘gay guys to rob’
Defense Takes On Hate Crime Tag
Judge Rules 3 Can Be Charged With Hate Crimes
Gay-slay suspects can’t beat hate rap
Suspect Said to Have Joked About Attack on Gay Man
DA’s Case Emerges in Sandy Murder
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Hate Crimes,
New York
Our suggestion.
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New Stalls for Craig’s Airport Restroom
MINNEAPOLIS - The infamous airport men’s room where Sen. Larry Craig was arrested is getting new stall dividers that drop nearly to the floor to make it a less inviting spot for sexual liaisons.
Web sites had touted that restroom as a popular site for sex with strangers, and police reports over the summer described several cases of men ducking their heads under the dividers into adjoining stalls, allegedly in search of sex.
On June 11, an undercover police officer was the men’s room when Craig allegedly tapped his feet and swiped his hand under the divider in a way authorities said was a signal for someone wanted sex.
. . .
The Minneapolis airport has more than 80 restrooms, but only two are being targeted for the new dividers, including the one now known for Craig’s arrest.
“These two have been the most problematic in terms of complaints from people and indications on Web sites that sexual activities are occurring in them,” said airport spokesman Patrick Hogan. He said the dividers would be installed within the next two months.
. . .
The new stall dividers will fall to just 2 to 3 inches above the floor, instead of leaving as much as a foot of open space as they do now. The airport expects to spend $25,000; installing them in every restroom there would cost about $1 million, Hogan said.
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Larry Craig,
Minnesota,
Random Stupidity
From the “But He Was Such A Nice Boy!” Department:
Georgetown Student Arrested In Hate Crime Beating
. . .
Police Chief Cathy Lanier announced that Phillip Anderton Cooney was arrested for the Sept. 9 attack in the 1400 block of 36th Street Northwest. The 19-year-old student from Texas is charged with assaulting the victim while yelling homophobic slurs.
. . .
“The victim said he was walking by a party that was dispersing and two men started following him and yelling homophobic epithets, “D.C. Police Lt. Alberto Jova said. “One of the males approached him and started punching him with closed fists about the face. The victim in this case suffered cuts and bruises to his face and a broken thumb.”
. . .
“The victim said he made it a point to etch the suspect’s face in his mind and remember him,” Jova said. “Because of that he was able to give a very positive identification.”
. . .
“We are all completely shocked,” Pat Depoy said. “Phil is one of the nicest and most gentle people that we know at this school. He’s one of our best friends. We’re just completely blown away by these accusations.”
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Hate Crimes,
Washington, D.C.
Carolyn Lochhead writes:
The decision by House Democratic leaders yesterday to dump transgender people from a civil rights law protecting gays and lesbians from workplace discrimination has put the Human Rights Campaign in a terribly awkward position.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco is to be the guest of honor at the HRC’s big national dinner Oct. 6, where she is to be feted for her accomplishments on behalf of gay people.
The HRC gala could help explain the sudden rush to push the long-languishing Employment Non-Discrimination Act, known as ENDA, through the House next week — even if it means throwing transgender people off the bus.
The move has generated outrage in the gay rights community — with the notable exception of HRC, which so far remains silent…
. . .
The hate crimes bill includes transgender people, but as House Democrats concede, it is much easier to pass a law punishing people for clubbing transgender people with a baseball bat than it is to require employers to hire them. Hence it is unlikely that ENDA is going to get through the Senate anytime soon.
But [Rep. Barney Frank] said Democratic leaders had to dump trans-gendered people from the ENDA in order to pass it in the House. The decision came after strategy sessions involving Frank, Pelosi, and Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, who chairs the committee that will mark up the ENDA bill Tuesday.
So far that argument is not flying with most gay activists. …
It isn’t flying with us, that’s for sure. 
See also:
Frank Confident ENDA Will Pass; Gay Bashers Cry Foul
House Wants to Throw Transgenders Under Bus
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Barney Frank,
Employment/ENDA,
LGBT Organizations,
Transgender
From WMUR:
Prosecutors Say Man Beaten For Being Gay
John Lavasser, of Colebrook, said that he was targeted by two men in July because he is gay. He said he didn’t know his attackers, but he believes they knew him. He grew up in Colebrook, and he said people in the community know he is gay.
. . .
Prosecutors said Lavasser was beaten in his car by Sheane Eldritch, 23, and Thomas Baker, 20.
“As they were walking away, witnesses heard them bragging about it, saying, ‘I’m gonna kill that fag,’” Coos County Assistant Attorney Keith Clouatre said.
. . .
Lavasser’s partner, Ron Sayres, arrived moments after the men fled and said he was stunned by what he saw. …
. . .
New Hampshire does not have a specific hate crime law, but when police believe that a crime was motivated by hate, a statute allows for more severe punishment in the form of extra jail time.
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Category:
Hate Crimes
