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and gagged with their throats slit. Rice was indict
ed April 9 by a grand jury in Charlottesville,
charged with four counts of capital murder, two of
which allege that he chose his victims because of
their gender and sexual orientation.
“The United States maintains that the
defendant hated women and lesbians and that
hatred was a motive for his killing,” the indict
ment says. “The defendant stated intent that he
intentionally selected women to intimidate and
assault ‘because they are more vulnerable than
men’...that he ‘hates gays’ and that Julianne
Williams and Laura Winans ‘deserved to die
becau.se they were lesbian whores.’ ”
If these murders had occurred in almost any
other place in the United States, the act could
not have been used. Passed in 1994, it directs
the U.S. Sentencing Commission to provide
enhancements of “not less than three offense
levels for offenses that the finder of fact at trial
determines beyond a reasonable doubt are hate
crimes.”
M IS S IS S IP P I
L
ambda Legal Defense and Education Fund
strongly denounced April 8 a letter to a
newspaper by a Mississippi judge suggesting gay
men and lesbians be institutionalized, and it
agreed to represent a statewide civil rights group
in an ethics complaint against him. “The letter
is a clear statement of prejudice against gays and
lesbians that calls into serious question whether
the judge can decide cases fairly and impartial
ly,” attorney Greg Nevins said.
The George County Times published a letter
to the editor March 28 from Mississippi Justice
Court Judge Connie Glenn Wilkerson in which
he writes, “In my opinion, gays and lesbians
should he put in some type of mental institute
instead of having a [domestic partnership] law
like this passed for them." He was referring to a
recent Associated Press article about the ability
of gay and lesbian survivors to sue for the wrong
ful death of their partners.
“I got sick on my stomach as I read the news
story,” Wilkerson wrote. He also invoked the
Bible and Romans 1:32, which suggests that
those who break God’s law “are worthy of death.”
“Judge Wilkerson’s letter shows that the era of
bias and prejudice by Mississippi judges is not yet
over, particularly for gays and lesbians,” said Jody
Renaldo, Equality Mississippi executive director.
“The state is not served when its officials express
bias against any group of people, and Judge Wilk
erson needs to catch up with the times."
The Mississippi Code of Judicial Conduct
specifically calls on judges to avoid “expressions
of bias or prejudice,” including demeaning
remarks based on sexual orientation.
Wilkerson’s remarks come on the heels of an
opinion by Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice
Roy Moore in which he called gay people "inher
ently destructive to the natural order of society.”
Lambda filed an ethics complaint against him, hut
the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission reject
ed it, claiming his comments are protected
because they are part of a judicial opinion.
“We are extremely concerned about the rash
of anti-gay statements from judges who are duty-
bound to give a fair hearing to all,” said Hector
Vargas, Lambda Southern Regional Office
director. “These kinds of statements make gays
and lesbians feel that the justice system is closed
off to them."
N EW YO R K
..... ...V...V...V.
he state Senate Judiciary Committee
voted April 10 to open up family court to
domestic partners, including same-sex and
unmarried partners. Insiders say the 17-2 action
is evidence of what might he a new openness
toward this issue by
members in the Re
publican majority.
Many victims of
domestic violence are
locked out of family
court and its protec
tions because the defi
nition of “family” is
limited to those who
are married or share a
child. Any couple who Ross Levi
are not legally married
or do not share a child instead must rely on
criminal court, which is not nearly as well
equipped for protection orders and other legal
devices.
According to the New York City Gay and
Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, almost one in
three intimate same-sex relationships experi
ences some form of domestic violence— a level
almost identical to heterosexual couples. “Just
the fact that gay men and lesbians in abusive
relationships are denied access to these services
simply due to their inability to marry is an
inequity the state needs to address once and for
all,” said Ross Levi, Empire State Pride Agenda
legislative counsel.
The next step for the legislation and its com
panion bill in the Assembly is a floor vote in
their respective chambers. Gov. George Pataki
is expected to sign the measure.
“For too long now, there have been two sets
of rules in New York for victims of violence in
the home,” said Joe Grabarz, Empire State Pride
Agenda executive director. “The state should
not be in the business of picking those victims it
wishes to protect and those it does not.” JH
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