Lauderdale attack on gay man seen as hate crime

By Brian Haas and Elizabeth Baier
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
February 28, 2008

FORT LAUDERDALE - Police are investigating another possible hate crime against a gay person after a man was beaten outside a popular city diner amid a torrent of anti-gay slurs.

The newest case has spread fear among Fort Lauderdale's gay community in a city that prides itself on being gay-friendly to attract tourism. The city made national news in gay media last week with the murder of Simmie Williams Jr., a 17-year-old killed in the 1000 block of Sistrunk Avenue.

He was found shot Friday morning moments after witnesses heard an argument between him and two men. Police are investigating the case as a possible hate crime.
Less than 24 hours later, Fort Lauderdale resident Melbourne Brunner was beaten outside The Floridian 24-hour diner by a man who shouted anti-gay slurs at him and his partner.

The pair were eating breakfast at about 3:30 a.m. Saturday when the man walked up and began shouting at the two, according to a police report. At one point, the man made a violent motion with his hands, saying, "this is how I break faggots' necks," the report said.Brunner and his partner left the diner, but the man followed and blocked him from getting into his car."He punched me in the face. I hit the sidewalk," Brunner said Tuesday.

continue at source?

"If the police are against you, to whom can you turn for aide and protection?"...

photo source: transgriotblog

"If the police are against you, to whom can you turn for aide and protection?"

...Gay Jamaican cop eyes asylum in Canada

(source: UPI)

OP-ED to the BLOG

by MW Savant, CEO

"Well, as the gay/bi Constable says "If the police can be against you, what about the civilians?"

It begs the followup: "If the police are against you, to whom can you turn for aide and protection?"

Evidently, upholding the law above all else doesn't apply in Jamaica. Especially if you're a GLBTI person. The mobs seem permitted, nee, encouraged to commit these hate attacks and the victim is to blame and out of luck. "Dem only batty boys, dey!"

From the BLOG of the ever-insightful Monica Roberts (TRANSGRIOT), comes a poem on the subject.

The latest is that a Jamaican constable is reporting harassment and is in fear of his life after coming out as bisexual and/or gay. He has had his belongings thrown out of his station house, presumably by fellow cops. He is seeking asylum in Canada in order to preserve his life.

This is the most pathetic and blatant hate and discrimination on its face. No one can deny it. It says that the law can only protect you if you're just like the lawmakers (read: heterosexual)? You're not allowed to be who you are and receive the protection to which you are entitled as a citizen? This is yet another seething wound on the hands of that country.

However, it seems clear that they couldn't care less about world opinion or who is watching. It appears that the government endorse and condone this savagery. This island is rumored to have the highest murder rate in the world and, therefore, not a place I feel comfortable in recommending or supporting.

Even though savvyplanners.com has now launched an official GLBT travel agency called savvyTravel™, I refuse, despite any loss of sales, to encourage, guide or facilitate any of our clients making visits to Jamaica. It is abhorrent and horrifying to me to even consider enabling a client's injury, harassment or death as a result of facilitating and coordinating their trip.

I have gone on record as abstaining from booking anything in Jamaica for clients unless, and until, the government move to protect their own GLBTI citizens and the well-being of GLBTI visitors. I have made this a company policy for the good of our clientele. What's right is right.

In fairness, it isn't only Jamaica that permits this zeitgeist against GLBTI persons and the accompanying violence. It is pervasive, broadly, in the Caribbean. I'm furious at this complete disregard for humanity and civility. People know that I am no 'activist' but I am certainly an "equalist".

Shouldn't someone stand up? Shouldn't the world be outraged? I'm reminded of the statement by the Pastor Martin Niemoeller, Dachau, Germany, 1941.

"In Germany they came first for the Communists and I didn't speak up
because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me-- and by that time no one was left to speak up."

To be clear, at no time will savvyplanners.com, savvyTravel™ ---or any of our other subsidiaries--- ever willingly participate in encouraging or helping clients to travel to homophobic places in the (extremely appealing, beautiful and popular) Caribbean for weddings and honeymoons or vacations in which their safety and lives may be in danger simply for being GLBTI people. Profit, in this case, is clearly irrelevant.

There is no gray area in Equality. Therefore, I am unable to ignore the obvious maltreatment of gays and lesbians, bisexuals and transgender men and women in destinations throughout a very large part of the Caribbean. The entire raison d'etre for opening savvyplanners.com, nearly four years ago, was rooted in the obligation and opportunity to assure that GLBTI couples are not maltreated in any forum. Our stated mission is to protect the interests and well-being, dignity and honor of GLBTI ceremonies and events. This has not, nor will it, change.

Business and profits must take a back seat to human injustice wherever and whenever it can. Profitability and social responsibility--- the two entities are not impossible to reconcile.

-Just a friendly neighborhood "Equalist",

Mr. MW Savant, CEO"

Editor's Note: The preceding opinion is a statement by savvyplanners.com CEO MW Savant. It is his opinion on the matter and is entirely supported by savvyplanners.com, its principals, staff and affiliates.

Related:

Gay Jamaican Cop Eyes Asylum in Canada(UPI)

The Most Homophobic Place on Earth (TIME Magazine)

Jamaican mob attacked two gay men, putting one in the hospital with serious injuries, while the other is missing.

GSA Network, Transgender Law Center, and EQCA Saddened Over Shooting of Gay Jr. High Student in Oxnard

Advocates urge stronger bullying prevention efforts to prevent escalation of violence

SAN FRANCISCO – Gay-Straight Alliance Network (GSA Network), the Transgender Law Center (TLC), and Equality California (EQCA) are deeply saddened by the shooting of Lawrence King, a gay junior high school student in Oxnard, CA. The 15-year-old victim was shot at E.O. Green Junior High School on Tuesday morning and pronounced brain dead yesterday around 2 pm.

According to reports from friends of Lawrence King speaking to the Los Angeles Times, the victim self-identified as gay, sometimes wore make-up and feminine jewelry, and was the target of ridicule by some of his classmates. Authorities are investigating the shooting as a possible hate crime, but have not confirmed if King was targeted by the shooter because of his sexual orientation or gender expression.

The shooting has been characterized as a “personal” attack and “bad blood” between two students, but advocates caution the violence at the Oxnard junior high is more aptly characterized as a tragic example of widespread homophobia in our schools. Every day young people are subject to bullying or harassment based on sexual orientation or gender identity and expression.

While there were reports of the victim receiving support at school due to the bullying he endured, no other bullying prevention efforts have been reported. This terrible event sheds light on the need to provide better education for all students about respect for diversity and differences.

“With young people coming out at younger ages, our schools – especially our junior highs and middle schools – need to be proactive about teaching respect for diversity based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” said Carolyn Laub, executive director of Gay-Straight Alliance Network. “The tragic death of Lawrence King is a wake-up call for our schools to better protect students from harassment at school. As a society, we can prevent this kind of violence from happening.”

“We are deeply saddened by this tragedy, which is a grim reminder of the need for all of us to re-double our efforts to protect LGBT youth,” said EQCA Executive Director Geoff Kors.

California has laws protecting students from harassment and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression in schools. The California Student Safety and Violence Prevention Act was enacted in 2000, and further strengthened through the passage of AB 394 (The Safe Place to Learn Act) and SB 777 (The CA Student Civil Rights Act), which went into effect on January 1, 2008.

“We are proud to live in a state with laws aimed at preventing harassment and violence in schools,” said Masen Davis, executive director of the Transgender Law Center “We need strong laws, policies, and programs to keep our young people safe,” he continued. “But the sad reality is that even with these protections, violence against gay and gender non-conforming students happens all too often. We must address the culture of bullying in our schools to ensure that all youth have safe places to learn.”

GSA Network, the Transgender Law Center, and EQCA extend their condolences to the victim’s family and friends, and the entire E.O. Green Junior High School community. Additionally, GSA Network, the Transgender Law Center, and EQCA encourage LGBT youth and families in the Ventura County area to seek out support services from the Ventura County Rainbow Alliance. www.lgbtventura.org


###

GSA Network is a nonprofit organization, governed by youth and adults, that empowers youth activists to fight homophobia and transphobia in schools through Gay-Straight Alliance clubs. There are currently more than 650 GSA clubs in California schools, including more than 45% of the public high schools and about a dozen middle schools or junior highs in the state. www.gsanetwork.org

The Transgender Law Center is a civil rights organization advocating for transgender communities through direct legal services, education, community organizing, and policy and media advocacy. www.transgenderlawcenter.org

Equality California is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, grassroots-based, statewide advocacy organization whose mission is to achieve equality and civil rights for all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Californians. www.eqca.org

21 Things You Didn't Know You Can Recycle

Thanks toEnviroMain ॐDate: Feb 11, 2008 12:57 PMThanks: frankOdelicDate: Feb 10, 2008 7:23 PM

Garbage. Americans produce more and more of it every year, when we need to be producing less.

Even the most waste-conscious among us can feel overwhelmed by the amount of household waste that goes beyond what municipal recyclers and compost bins can handle.

That's why our editors have spent the summer investigating the state of waste management in our country, and putting together information for you, our Co-op America members, explaining how we can get serious about the three R's – reducing, reusing, and recycling. Supporting members of Co-op America can expect to receive this issue of the Co-op America Quarterly this fall.

If you're not already a supporting member, join us now to get this special issue mailed to you.

1. Appliances: Goodwill accepts working appliances, http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3Lmdvb2R3aWxsLm9yZw==, or you can contact the Steel Recycling Institute to recycle them. 800/YES-1-CAN, http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LnJlY3ljbGUtc3RlZWwub3JnLw==.

2. Batteries: Rechargeables and single-use: Battery Solutions, 734/467-9110, http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmJhdHRlcnlyZWN5Y2xpbmcuY29t.

3. Cardboard boxes: Contact local nonprofits and women's shelters to see if they can use them. Or, offer up used cardboard boxes at your local Freecycle.org listserv or on Craigslist.org for others who may need them for moving or storage. If your workplace collects at least 100 boxes or more each month, UsedCardboardBoxes.com accepts them for resale.

4. CDs/DVDs/Game Disks: Send scratched music or computer CDs, DVDs, and PlayStation or Nintendo video game disks to AuralTech for refinishing, and they'll work like new: 888/454-3223, http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmF1cmFsdGVjaC5jb20=

5. Clothes: Wearable clothes can go to your local Goodwill outlet or shelter. Donate wearable women's business clothing to Dress for Success, which gives them to low-income women as they search for jobs, 212/532-1922, http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmRyZXNzZm9yc3VjY2Vzcy5vcmc=. Offer unwearable clothes and towels to local animal boarding and shelter facilities, which often use them as pet bedding. Consider holding a clothes swap at your office, school, faith congregation or community center. Swap clothes with friends and colleagues, and save money on a new fall wardrobe and back-to-school clothes.

6. Compact fluorescent bulbs: Take them to your local IKEA store for recycling: http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmlrZWEuY29tLw==.

7. Compostable bio-plastics: You probably won't be able to compost these in your home compost bin or pile. Find a municipal composter to take them to at http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmZpbmRhY29tcG9zdGVyLmNvbS8=.

8. Computers and electronics: Find the most responsible recyclers, local and national, at http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmJhbi5vcmcvcGxlZGdlL0xvY2F0aW9ucy5odG1s
9. Exercise videos: Swap them with others at http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LnZpZGVvZml0bmVzcy5jb20=

10. Eyeglasses: Your local Lion's Club or eye care chain may collect these. Lenses are reground and given to people in need.

11. Foam packing: Your local pack-and-ship store will likely accept foam peanuts for reuse. Or, call the Plastic Loose Fill Producers Council to find a drop-off site: 800/828-2214. For places to drop off foam blocks for recycling, contact the Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers, 410/451-8340, http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmVwc3BhY2thZ2luZy5vcmcvaW5mby5odG1s
12. Ink/toner cartridges: Recycleplace.com pays $1/each.

13. Miscellaneous: Get your unwanted items into the hands of people who can use them. Offer them up on your local Freecycle.org or Craigslist.org listserv, or try giving them away at Throwplace.com or giving or selling them at iReuse.com. iReuse.com will also help you find a recycler, if possible, when your items have reached the end of their useful lifecycle.
14. Oil: Find Used Motor Oil Hotlines for each state: 202/682-8000, http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LnJlY3ljbGVvaWwub3Jn.

15. Phones: Donate cell phones: Collective Good will refurbish your phone and sell it to someone in a developing country: 770/856-9021, http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmNvbGxlY3RpdmVnb29kLmNvbQ==. Call to Protect reprograms cell phones to dial 911 and gives them to domestic violence victims: http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmRvbmF0ZWFwaG9uZS5jb20=. Recycle single-line phones: Reclamere, 814/386-2927, http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LnJlY2xhbWVyZS5jb20v.

16. Sports equipment: Resell or trade it at your local Play It Again Sports outlet, 800/476-9249, http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LnBsYXlpdGFnYWluc3BvcnRzLmNvbS8=.

17. "Technotrash": Project KOPEG offers an e-waste recycling program that can help you raise funds for your organization. Use Project KOPEG to recycle iPods, MP3 players, cell phones and chargers, digital cameras, PDAs, palm pilots, and more. Also, easily recycle all of your CDs, jewel cases, DVDs, audio and video tapes, pagers, rechargeable and single-use batteries, PDAs, and ink/toner cartridges with GreenDisk's Technotrash program. For $30, GreenDisk will send you a cardboard box in which you can ship them up to 70 pounds of any of the above. Your fee covers the box as well as shipping and recycling fees. 800/305-GREENDISK, http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmdyZWVuZGlzay5jb20=.

18. Tennis shoes: Nike's Reuse-a-Shoe program turns old shoes into playground and athletic flooring. http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3Lm5pa2UuY29tL25pa2ViaXovbmlrZWJpei5qaHRtbD9wYWdlPTI3JmFtcDtjYXQ9cmV1c2Vhc2hvZQ==. One World Running will send still-wearable shoes to athletes in need in Africa, Latin America, and Haiti. http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3Lm9uZXdvcmxkcnVubmluZy5jb20v.

19. Toothbrushes and razors: Buy a recycled plastic toothbrush or razor from Recycline, and the company will take it back to be recycled again into plastic lumber. Recycline products are made from used Stonyfield Farms' yogurt cups. 888/354-7296, www.recycline.com.

20. Tyvek envelopes: Quantities less than 25: Send to Shirley Cimburke, Tyvek Recycling Specialist, 5401 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Spot 197, Room 231, Richmond, VA 23234. Quantities larger than 25, call 866/33-TYVEK.

21. Stuff you just can't recycle: When practical, send such items back to the manufacturer and tell them they need to manufacture products that close the waste loop responsibly...

©2005 Co-op America.

Event reminder Don't miss MENY's gala Tonight!!

(PSA)

Celebrate 10 years of Marriage Equality NY serving the community in its struggle for gender neutral marriage.



Support this worthy cause and get your tickets in advance for this much anticipated party at Bamboo 52 a lavish restaurant including sushi and warm finger foods for dinner, open bar, plenty of people, Julie Goldman (from Logo's A Big Gay Sketch Comedy Show) as the Host, Gender Offenders doing performances, and a wedding cake ceremony.



For anyone who doesn't know, MENY is a 501(c)3 organization that works to educate, build awareness, and work with law makers to bring about change from the "grass up". We have no office space, no paid staff, and all donations go directly towards community organizing for this issue.

Happy Freedom To Marry Week!

Freedom To Marry Week 11th Annual Observances Feb. 10-16, 2008

By Evan Wolfson - Freedom To Marry

Go to original article - Go to RainbowZine

Freedom to Marry Week 2008 is one more chance to ask those around us to put themselves in same-sex couples’ shoes and ask, 'How would I feel if I couldn't marry the person I love?'

Awareness of the Need to End the Exclusion of Same-Sex Couples from Marriage at a New High
(New York, February 11, 2008)— Gay and non-gay organizations have scheduled over 100 events in 21 states across the nation in honor of the 11th Annual Freedom to Marry Week (Feb. 10-16), seizing an opportunity to highlight how the denial of marriage harms families, while helping no one. The renewed conversations come as major court decisions, legislative progress, and ballot-measures all will be claiming space on the country's calendar this election-year.
“Freedom to Marry Week 2008 is one more chance to ask those around us to put themselves in same-sex couples’ shoes and ask, 'How would I feel if I couldn't marry the person I love?',” said Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry and author of Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality and Gay People's Right to Marry. “With state high court decisions in marriage cases pending in Connecticut, California, and Iowa; legislatures from New Jersey to Washington, Maryland to Illinois, New York to California, dealing with the reality that civil unions don't work and the freedom to marry matters; and conversations among the reachable middle moving hearts every day, Freedom to Marry Week offers an opportunity to give people the information they need to rise to fairness.”
Freedom to Marry Week occurs every year, right around President Lincoln's Birthday and Valentine's Day, to give gay and non-gay people around the country an opportunity to gather to talk about our lives, our loves and our families, celebrate the victories from the year before and continue the fight for the freedom to marry.
For event listings and to learn more about Freedom to Marry Week, visit: http://www.freedomtomarry.org/get_involved/freedom_to_marry_week_2008.php

Freedom to Marry is the gay and non-gay partnership working to win marriage equality nationwide. Launched in 2003, Freedom to Marry is headed by Evan Wolfson, nationally recognized as a central "architect of the marriage equality movement." Freedom to Marry guides and focuses this social justice movement on a nationwide level, serving as a strategy and support center for national, state, and local partners, a catalyst that drives and shapes the national debate on marriage equality, and an alliance-builder fostering support from non-gay allies.

Go to original article with comments

Jamaican mob attacked two gay men, putting one in the hospital with serious injuries, while the other is missing.

Posted Feb. 3, 2008 – After days of harassment and threats, a Jamaican mob attacked two gay men, putting one in the hospital with serious injuries, while the other is missing.

A mob, of about 20 people in the town of Mandeville, reportedly promised a violent attack on the men, and on Tuesday, they fulfilled that promise.

The group broke into the home of the men and attacked them, authorities told The Associated Press. One man had his left ear severed, his arm broken in two places and his spine possibly damaged; the other man, who was chased from their home, has not been found, according to the report.

This is just the latest incident in the island's long history of violence against gays and lesbians.

Just last year, a crowd of about 2,000 people, including teens and small children, stoned three gay men. In April 2006, students rioted at the University of the West Indies and attacked an alleged gay student. In December 2005, a Kingston mob chased an alleged gay. Fearful of the crowd, he jumped into the water and drowned.

The Jamaican Forum for Lesbians, All-sexual and Gays (JFLAG) says it is time for the government to do something to protect gays and lesbians. "While Jamaican police have begun to reach out to gay and lesbian communities, this change hasn't reached many police stations, where protection remains an illusion," Rebecca Schleifer, HIV/AIDS advocate at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement to AP.

However, police spokeswoman Camika Parker disagrees. She told AP that everyone on the island receives the same level of police protection. Jamaica has a colonial-era law on the books that bans sex between men.

source: BET/IGtv.com