Nationwide Vigils Planned for Slain Gay Puerto Rican Teen

Vigils are being planned across the nation for this Sunday, November 22 to honor slain teen Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado who was brutally murdered for being gay. Activists are demanding that the alleged perpetrator be charged under the new U.S. federal hate crimes law which includes sexual orientation and gender identity.

Vigils scheduled:

In New York City a vigil will be held at Pier 45 followed by optional mass at 5:00 pm.

In Boston - 6PM, Trinity Church, Copley Plaza [Facebook link]

In Chicago - 4PM, Division and California, procession to Humboldt Park Boat House.]

In Dallas at 6:15 pm on Sunday.

In L.A. - 8PM, Santa Monica and San Vicente [Facebook link]

In Oakland - 3:30PM, MacArthur and Lakeshore/Grand Ave [Facebook link]

In San Francisco - 7PM, Castro and Market [Facebook link]

Vigils are also planned for Atlanta, Durham, New Orleans, and Philadelphia but information on location and times is not yet available.

H/T to Towleroad.

Calls for the Resignation of Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina

There have been calls for the resignation of North Carolina representative Virginia Foxx who yesterday during the house of representatives hearing of H.R. 1913 the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act AKA Matthew Shepard Act, called Matthew Shepard's case a "hoax" and a crime not motivated by anti-gay bias but by robbery.

Below a video from Media Matters captures the reps comments, and the facts that the Matthew Shepard case was indeed a hate crime motivated by sexual orientation:


The representative later, said the word "hoax" was likely a poor choice of words, but did not apologize for her comments.

1230 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202) 225-207

E-mail Webform

Rep. Fox's Twitter.

Matthew Shepard Bill Passes House Now Moves to Senate

The Local Law Enforcement Protection Act H.R. 1913 (Matthew Shepard Bill) has passed in the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 249-175. The bill expands the federal hate crimes statute to include actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity.

The bill will now move on to the senate, please contact your senators and urge them to vote for passage of the bill.

Tell Congress to pass the Matthew Shepard Act

A law protecting all of our citizens against senseless hate violence is long overdue. Two years ago, radical right-wing groups and George W. Bush's veto threat blocked the Matthew Shepard Act, which would outlaw hate crimes based on both sexual orientation and gender identity. But now the bill is back.



The house is set to vote on the bill TODAY, please contact your representatives now, and urge your friends and family to follow suit.

Congress to Vote on Matthew Shepard Act Tomorrow

The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 (H.R. 1913) AKA "The Matthew Shepard Act" will be up for a vote tomorrow in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill would amend the federal hate crimes law to include to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.

The right-wing is contacting congress at an alarming rate, calling the bill a "thought crimes bill" and flat out lying that this bill will somehow impede on their free speech rights.

HRC is asking us to take action by contacting our representatives.

Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and tell your Member’s office:

* Hate crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are on the rise. One out of every six hate crimes is because of the victim’s sexual orientation.

* Hate crimes have more than one victim. They are intended to create an atmosphere of fear and terrorize entire communities.

* The Matthew Shepard Act targets only violent acts – not speech. It does not tell any clergy member what he or she can or can’t preach.

Urge Congress to Pass Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act

The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 (H.R. 1913) would add sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and disability to existing federal hate crimes laws. It would also strengthen enforcement of these laws by allowing the US Department of Justice to assist local authorities in the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes cases. The bill is identical to the hate crimes legislation passed by the House of Representatives in 2007 and is transgender-inclusive.

Send a message to your elected representative and urge them to support H.R. 1913.

H/T to Planet Transgender