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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 7, 2003)
Z 2003» rTîTTTîTTm news Continued from P age 17 promise of asylum is in question when an immigration judge recognizes that a man is being persecuted and sends him hack to the country telling him to disguise the very charac teristic that leads to persecution and makes him eligible for asylum. This is a deeply dis turbing case, and we intend to help secure asy lum for Jorge Soto Vega.” Four men were arrested and released on bail. “I fear that, in time, we will see an esca lating violent backlash to accompany the far right’s war against L G B T equality," said Ran dall Ellis of the Leshian/Gay Rights Lobby of Texas. pect seems to be offering the standard ‘gay panic’ excuse for killing Mr. Homedo— ‘he made a pass at me, so I had to kill him.’ ” judge has freed the way for the Hispanic A ID S Forum, the state’s largest Latino A ID S service provider, to prtKeed to trial in a case against its former landlord for trans dis crimination, the American Civil Liberties U nion announced O ct. 15. T h e agency brought suit against its former landlord for illegal eviction after the landlord complained 24-year-old trans woman who immigrated that its trans clients were using the “wrong" two years ago from Acapulco, Mexico, was bathrooms and banished all trans people from murdered Sept. 30 in San Pablo. the common areas of the building. Officers reported finding Ricardo "Sindy" “It is unfortunate that the bathrixim has Cuarda bleeding heavily from several gunshot once again become a battleground in the wounds and lying in the driveway of a business. fight for equal rights," attorney James Esseks She died shortly thereafter at Doctors Medical said. “T h e landlord’s decision to exclude Center. transgender people from the bathrooms and T he suspects are at large. “Heartless bru common areas was just as wrong tixlay as it tality such as this only underscores the grim was 50 years ago when business owners in the reality that transphobia is lethal," said Tina South tried to force African Americans to use P ’Elia of the Community United Against separate bathrooms.” Violence. The trial court’s ruling was in response to a NEW YORK motion by the landlord, who claimed trans peo ple are not protected by the state’s civil rights he killer of a gay man whose body was laws. It joined other New York courts in inter found in his van O ct. 1 3 in Ridgewood, the state’s civil rights law to include pro Queens, claims he stabbed the victim with preting a tections for trans people. screwdriver in response to an unwanted sex This is the first lawsuit under New York’s ual advance. civil rights law that has dealt with the issue of Eric Homedo apparently met the suspect, which hathrcxims are appropriate for trans peo Walter Drayton, through a phone service wide ly used for sex ple to use. After this lawsuit was filed, New York ual encounters. City amended its civil rights law to provide According to explicit coverage for trans people. Drayton, after Homedo came on to him WYOMING O ct. 11, he he Casper City Council unanimously tried to escape rejected Oct. 28 a request from the Rev. the van, hut Fred Phelps to erect a “monument" to the the dixtrs and death of Matthew Shepard. The bronze plaque windows were would have featured the student’s image and locked. the words “Matthew Shepard entered hell Drayton O ct. 12, 1998, at age 21 in defiance of God’s was arrested solemn warning." O ct. 28 and C iting a ruling last year by the 10th C ir charged with cuit Court in Denver, Phelps says the city has second-degree murder, rob no choice hut to display the intolerant and bigoted message in Shepard’s hometown or bery, criminal possession of stolen property and criminal possession of an illegal weapon. remove another statue in the park displaying the Ten Commandments. A disbarred lawyer, Before his arrest, he had allegedly ordered two cell phones and pornographic movies with the he told The Salt L ake Tribune he would buy private property to display the monument or stolen credit card. sue the city. “From what we know so far, this could be Shepard was the victim of an anti-gay hate a classic case of an anti-gay predator,” said crime in Laramie. At his funeral, Phelps and Richard Haymes of the New York City Gay his Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, and Lesbian A nti-V iolence Project. “T h e sus A ARIZONA T A r T OUR PLANTS ARE 6 ON THE KINSEY SCALE C a n a d ia n [ pharmaceutical Su p p ly U .S. Sen. John Edwards, D -N .C ., condemned the Rev. Fred Phelps’ proposed “monument” to Matthew Shepard Kan., screamed “Gixl Hutes Fags” and held signs that read “No Fags in Heaven.” “This ignorant hatred represents the worst in humanity,” said U.S. Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., who is mnning for president. “I am disgusted by it.” TEXAS A n off-duty Austin police officer was attacked O ct. 25 in an apparent anti-gay hate crime. T h e victim , his partner and a friend were at a stop sign in a car with a rainbow sticker on the license plate when two pedestrians in the crosswalk blocked the vehicle while six to eight other men began pounding it. W itnesses say one man struck the vic tim in the face and pulled him from the passenger seat while yelling, “Faggot.” The officer fell to the ground, and the attackers picked him up only to beat him again. He suffered broken teeth and puncture wounds on his lower lip. T Compiled by News Editor JlM R a po st a , who can be reached at jhn@justout .com . when you are! Careful and energetic handling of all your home financing needs on Medication from Canada À Eugene Office: 541-461-Home (4663) MORTGAGE A d v o c a te s 6700 SW 105th Ave., Suite 200 Bcavriton, OR 07005 loll Free (877) 826*1900 Fax (508) 297-0824 E-Mail: a >1 Icen w&n i tgvw h< xatcs.K x 11 www.intgarivixiUcs.com 6et A Price Quote *H e make Home (alii www.myCPSupply.com «©■■ he Arizona Supreme Court refused Oct. 29 to hear a challenge to Gov. Janet Napoli- tano’s executive order prohibiting discrimina tion based on sexual orientation against state employees. She issued the executive order in June, adding Arizona to nearly two dozen other states with similar policies. Six state legislators asked the Supreme Court to overturn Napolitano’s order, claiming the governor lacked the author ity to set such a policy. J H I’m A V A ILA BLE, „ Saw up to 8 $ till fret: i-IIM IIM o t (M J-jjJ-M ) he L G B T Q C oalition at Arizona State University in Tempe is calling on admin istrators to address the needs of the queer campus community in response to an appar ent increase in homophobic sentiment and harassment. T he students expect officials to amend their nondiscrimination policy to include gender identity and expression; to approve and imple ment a proposed gay and lesbian studies certifi cate academic program; to increase binding to initiate more diversity and awareness program ming; and to provide a larger space to serve as a drop-in and resource center for queer stu dents. This call for action comes from an increase in reports of bias-related incidents on and around campus: • A gay student working security at an apartment complex O ct. 16 was told “Fuck you, faggot” by a student on the m en’s basket ball team after responding to a noise complaint. • While waiting to be seated at a restaurant Oct. 16, a group of pledge members of the gay- straight Sigma Phi Beta fraternity were taunted by two men who made den>gatory statements and threatened to assault them. • A student found these words written on the walls of a bathroom Oct. 15: "Get AIDS here,” “Kill the fags" and “Faggots should die.” • A straight ally wearing a National Coming Out Day T-shirt was called a “faggot” Oct. 9 in her classrixim. • A gay student found the words “Suck my cock, faggot" written on his car and that his rainbow stickers had been torn off the bumper O ct. 2. 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