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page 15
RALLYING AGAINST
Hate crime
in Mississippi
A youth
is charged with
the murder o f two gay
men in Laurel, Miss.
by Bob Roehr
T
OMMÜNïïr
PHOTO BY UNOA KLIEWER
%
wo white gay men were mur­
dered Oct. 8 in Laurel, Miss.
Robert Walters, 34, and Joseph
Shoemaker, 24, were both from
the area. Their bodies were found by two
women the next morning, sprawled across
abandoned railroad tracks. One man had
his shorts rem oved and und erw ear
tw isted around
h is g e n i t a l s .
Each had a single
.22-caliber bul­
let w ound to
the head. Indi­
cations are they
w ere sh o t at
close range.
A 16-year-
o ld
African
American male,
M a r v i n Mc -
L i n d o n e , has
been arrested and charged with the mur­
ders. The sheriff s department received a
phone tip and got a taped confession from
the youth without a lawyer being present.
Many outside the sheriff s department
question how the youth could have com­
mitted the murders. The coroner’s report
stated that there had to have been at least
two people to carry out the crime.
Lesbian and gay activists label the
murders a hate crime. They point to a
growing climate of hate stoked by the
year-long barrage of rhetoric from
homophobic religious leaders and local
officials in regard to lesbians Brenda and
Wanda Henson and Camp Sister Spirit.
Now the National Gay and Lesbian
Task Force is seeking “immediate assis­
tance in ending the violence in Jones
County.” It faxed the request and back­
ground information to Attorney General
Janet Reno and several lower level offi­
cials within the U.S. Justice Department.
The NGLTF questions the perspective of
the sherrif involved with the investiga­
tion, who has m a d e n u m e r o u s
homophobic remarks quoted in national
and local media.
„
Continued on page 6
WÊM
>
T h e recen t rally at P io n eer C o u rth o u se S q u are
p ro v ed th at the N o on 13 cam p aig n has been
su ccessfu l w ith its co alitio n -b u ild in g efforts.
V olunteers are still needed to en su re o u r
v icto ry as w e head into the final days
before the election.
see p a g e 10
o