Weekly Queer Index: 4/19/09-4/25/09

This week saw some important advances for us queers including two big leaps forward for the transgender community.

A COLORADO MAN BEING SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON IN THE FIRST PROSECUTION OF A HATE CRIMES LAW AGAINST A TRANS PERSON IN THE COUNTRY IS: GOOD FOR THE GAYS*.

Angie Zapata was a 18 year old trans woman who had been living as a woman for at least two years. She had a loving and supportive family, often bringing home boyfriends to meet her mother and siblings. In the summer of 2008 Angie Zapata started corresponding with Allen Andrade, 32, over a social networking site. They met on July15th, spent several days together and then Andrade beat Angie to do with a fire extinguisher. He was arrested and claimed a classic "gay panic" defense, in this case a trans panic defense. But the evidence showed that his actions were not the result of some temporary insanity but came out of a deep hatred. Andrade told police that he had "killed it." In a phone call from jail to a girlfriend Andrade said, "all gay things must die...It’s not like I went up to a school teacher and shot her in the head… or like I killed a law-abiding straight citizen."
It was statements like these that lead Andrade to be charged for first degree murder and hate crimes. On Wednesday April 22nd, Andrade was found guilty on all counts, it took the jury less than two hours to deliberate and the judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. This the first successful conviction of defendant under a transgender hate crime statute. This is really a historic event, prosecuting murderers of transgender persons has been a notoriously difficult task. In 2002, two men were convicted of second degree murder for the death of another transgendered teen, Gwen Araujo, but were not found guilty of the "hate crime enhancements" that would have added years to their sentences. And in 1994, William Palmer was acquitted of murdering a transgender woman in Boston in what has to be one of the greatest miscarriages of justice this town has ever seen. Justice was done last week in Denver, and for that we should be hopeful. *Gay used here (as always) as an umbrella term encompassing everyone in the GLBT alphabet soup.

WASHINGTON STATE PASSING A TRANS-INCLUSIVE HATE CRIME BILL INTO LAW IS: GOOD FOR THE GAYS.
Speaking of transgender hate crime protections, the state of Washington just amended it's hate crimes statute by, "modifying the definition of "sexual orientation" for malicious harassment prosecution purposes" to include "gender expression or identity."

Washington is only the 12th state to enact trans-inclusive hate crime protections (even pinko Massachusetts hasn't secured that yet) and as the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force noted Washington is only the 7th state to enact "a clearly trans-inclusive safe schools law."As if the tragic case of Angie Zapata wasn't strong enough evidence to show how important transgender protection laws are, Joe McDermott writing on the Washington State Democrats Blog observed:

According to a recent study by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, reported acts of violence against LGBT people rose by 24 percent in 2007. Of the reported incidents, 16 percent were motivated by anti-transgender bias. Hate crimes against transgender men alone increased by 65 percent

And now moving onto the gay marriage front....

A MAJORITY OF NEW YORKERS SUPPORTING GAY MARRIAGE IS: GOOD FOR THE GAYS (in theory).

Last week's WQI celebrated Gov Paterson's decision to introduce a bill into the state legislature that would approve gay marriage in the state. Two recent polls of NY state residents show robust support for gay marriage. A Siena College Research Institute Poll shows a 53% to 39% approval, and a few weeks ago a Quinnipiac University poll found 41% approve of gay marriages, 33% of civil unions, and 19% for no recognition. However, the gay marriage bill is stalled in the Senate, where majority leader (and gay marriage supporter) Malcolm Smith has promised to table the bill until there are enough votes to ensure its passage (when that will be is unclear). Paterson for his part has agreed to follow the state senate's lead (or lack thereof).

So there you have it, unambiguous public support for an incredibly important civil rights issue which does not translate into effective legislative action. Queer New York activists better get a move on if they don't want to be upstaged by Iowa.

A MAJORITY OF NEW JERSIANS SUPPORTING GAY MARRIAGE IS: GOOD FOR THE GAYS (in theory).


Another Quinnipiac poll out last week shows that New Jersey residents approve of gay marriage 49% to 43%. When civil unions are thrown in as a poll option gay marriage still polls best with 42% for marriage, 30% for unions, and 20% for no recognition respectively. Only 30% of those polled believed that gay marriage was a threat to "traditional marriage." The New Jersey legislature will vote on a gay marriage bill later this year.


Did I mention this poll was taken a week AFTER N.O.M. started airing their "Gathering Storm" ad in the state.

The tides are turning.

MISS CALIFORNIA SUPPORTING "OPPOSITE MARRIAGE" AND LOOSING THE MISS USA CROWN IS: A MIXED BAG FOR THE GAYS.

It all started Sunday April 19th, when Miss California, Carrie Prejean, was asked a question by "celebrity blogger" Perez Hilton during the Miss USA pageant.

“Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not?”

Let's go to the tape:

Miss California lost the MISS USA Pageant but finished as a runner-up and blamed the results of the pageant on Perez.

THEN Perez Hilton made a video blog about the whole situation.


With that "dumb bitch" and the threat that he would have "smacked that tiara off her head" had she won, Perez perhaps undid all the goodwill his question had created. It's one thing to ask a contestant a contentious question, but when you pick on someone with a persecution complex or very low self-esteem (the general make-up of beauty pageant contestants and gay opposition) they fight back because they feel it validates their irrational feelings of persecution. Miss California basically said in her answer what Perez said he wanted to hear from her, she talked about personal rather than state choice, but the idea was the same. Of course Ms. Prejean sounded dumber than a barbie doll, but this is a beauty contest not Jeopardy. And it would have been totally fine for Perez Hilton to talk, post show, about how sickening it is to think of civil rights being put up to a vote. But just as it's rather sickening to turn civil rights into an electoral question, it's EQUALLY SICKENING TO TURN THE BATTLE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS INTO A CAT FIGHT.

Let's elevate the discourse PLEASE, there's nothing saying we can't call haters dumb or bitches, but strategically speaking, picking on beauty pageant contestants is about as useful as the pageants themselves.

WQI Total

Good: 4
Mixed: 1
Bad: 0