Murder charge filed in Puerto Rico gay teen slaying
(San Juan, Puerto Rico) Murder charges were filed Wednesday in the slaying of a gay teenager whose decapitated, partially burned body was found last week, while U.S. authorities said they were still considering whether to make it a hate crime case.
Gay activists expressed disappointment that the suspect wasn’t immediately charged …
Tags: Authorities, Disappointment, Gay Activists, Gay Teen, Gay Teenager, Hate Crime, Murder Charge, Murder Charges, San Juan Puerto, San Juan Puerto RicoQuestions about gay teen murder in Baltimore
Jason Mattison Jr., 15, an openly gay high schooler, was found dead last week in his aunt’s home; the suspect charged, Dante Parrish, 35, was a family friend. Mattison was raped, gagged with a pillowcase, stabbed repeatedly in the head and throat and shoved in a closet.
Says the Baltimore Sun:
Jason’s …
Tags: Baltimore Sun, Dante, Family Friend, Gay Baltimore, Gay Teen, High Schooler, Mattison, Pillowcase, Teen MurderMurder suspect thought Puerto Rico gay teen was a woman
365gay has new information on the murder investigation surrounding the decapitation and dismemberment of Puerto Rican teen Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado.
According to friends of Lopez Mercado, the suspect’s house was radied by police, where they found a burned mattress and pvc pope, a wig, two knives and a “big blood …
Tags: 365Gay, Decapitation, Dismemberment, Gay Teen, Gay Woman, Knives, Mattress, Murder Investigation, Murder Suspect, Pope, Puerto Rican, Puerto Rico, Pvc, Steven Lopez, WigColbert: The Problem With Exorcisms Of Gay Teens Is That They Put Gay Demons On The Loose
A Connecticut pastor created a stir this week after a video of her performing an exorcism on a gay teen hit YouTube. Pastor Patricia McKinney of Connecticut’s Manifested Glory Ministries then went on CNN to “let the world know out there that Manifested Glories Ministries is not against homosexuality. We do not hate them. We do not come up against them. We just do not believe in their lifestyle.” And to explain that her church believes in different… See
Colbert: The Problem With Exorcisms Of Gay Teens Is That They Put Gay Demons On The Loose
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Christian group sues for right to burn gay teen novel
n a scene which appears to have been lifted straight out of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, a group of Christians in Wisconsin has launched a legal claim demanding the right to publicly burn a copy of a book for teenagers which they deem to be “explicitly vulgar, racial [sic], and anti-Christian”.
The offending book is Francesca Lia Block’s Baby Be-Bop, a young adult novel in which a boy, struggling with his homosexuality, is beaten up by a homophobic gang. The complaint, which according to the American Library Association also demands $120,000 (£72,000) in compensatory damages for being exposed to the book in a display at West Bend Community Memorial Library, was lodged by four men from the Christian Civil Liberties Union.
Their suit says that “the plaintiffs, all of whom are elderly, claim their mental and emotional well-being was damaged by this book at the library,” and that it contains derogatory language that could “put one’s life in possible jeopardy, adults and children alike.”
“The word ‘faggot’ is very derogatory and slanderous to all males,” the suit continues. “Using the word ‘Nigger’ is dangerously offensive, disrespectful to all people. These words can permeate violence.” The suit also claims that the book “constitutes a hate crime, and that it degrades the community”.
“They’ve filed a claim against the city of West Bend and the city has to decide if it is valid,” said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, acting director of the ALA’s office for intellectual freedom. “Their insurance company is evaluating the claim, but I would be very surprised if they found any merit in it … Should they find any merit in this claim, we would certainly support the library in fighting it.”
The legal challenge follows a lengthy campaign by some West Bend residents to restrict access to teenage books they deemed sexually explicit from library shelves, which was eventually thrown out at the start of June.
“Obviously we were really pleased with the outcome to that – there was a unanimous vote to keep the books in the library and we thought the matter should be over,” said Larry Siems, director of the Freedom to Write programme at PEN America.
Siems said there was clearly “a bit of theatre” in the lawsuit which followed. “They’ve filed a lawsuit which has little possibility of going forward legally, and they’re asking for damages which include the right to burn a book. It does seem more to gain publicity than a real serious challenge.” But, he said, PEN remained very concerned about the impulse behind the claim. “This is a group of people trying aggressively to rid the library of these books and that’s very serious - it needs to be fought.”
The claimants, he said, “have a right to continue to express their views, and this in a way is a creative attempt to express those views”. But it’s “also a dangerous game when you’re talking about something like book burning, calling on the law to burn books. It’s certainly completely un-American, and if they paused, I think they would agree.”
It was not possible to reach the Christian Civil Liberties Union for comment.
See Christian group sues for right to burn gay teen novel guardian.co.uk
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Hearing reset for boy accused of killing gay teen
VENTURA, Calif.—A preliminary hearing has been postponed again for a 15-year-old boy charged with fatally shooting a gay student in an Oxnard classroom.
A Ventura County Superior Court judge on Monday reset the first hearing for Brandon McInerney to July 8. The boy is accused of killing his eighth-grade classmate, Larry King, on Feb. 12, 2008, at E.O. Green School.
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Hearing reset for boy accused of killing gay teen
VENTURA, Calif.—A preliminary hearing has been postponed again for a 15-year-old boy charged with fatally shooting a gay student in an Oxnard classroom.
A Ventura County Superior Court judge on Monday reset the first hearing for Brandon McInerney to July 8. The boy is accused of killing his eighth-grade classmate, Larry King, on Feb. 12, 2008, at E.O. Green School.
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Gay inclusion stalls SC teen violence bill
Gay inclusion stalls SC teen violence bill
Tags: Gay Teen, Inclusion, Teen Gay, Teen Violence‘Milk’ Oscar Winner: My Emotional Voyage Home to High School
Editor’s Note: On May 9th, Academy Award-winning “Milk” screenwriter Dustin Lance Black returned to his high school in North Salinas, CA, as part of Live Out Loud’s Homecoming Project. Aiming to inspire a new generation of role models, the program brings lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) leaders back to their high schools to share their personal stories with today’s students. In this exclusive submission to the MTV Movies Blog, Black tells us about his first time returning to the school since that powerful Oscar night speech, when he had spoken of his struggles as a gay teenager.
by Dustin Lance Black
My palms got a little sweaty as I turned off East Alvin Drive in Salinas, and onto Kip Drive.
For the first time in 17 years, I saw the entrance to my old high school, the same one where I was once called “gay” by my peers. And it wasn’t said as a compliment — it was said with hate, anger, and on one occasion I was honestly afraid of getting my butt whipped.
So, I did what so many kids still do — I tried to vanish. I didn’t get great grades, I didn’t excel, I shrunk and hid, and I did my best to disappear at lunch. High school is tough for almost everyone, but for LGBT kids, it can be truly frightening. And as much as I know that I’m all grown up now, and that I can stand up for myself, I still got a little knot in my stomach as we pulled up to the front doors of North Salinas High and the camera crews closed in.
Before my speech, I hung out in a back room waiting to be announced, but I could hear the crowd inside the gym. It sounded big. Then I heard them play my Oscar speech, and if you haven’t heard it yet, it’s pretty clear that I’m a gay guy fighting for the LGBT kids out there. The room got very quiet; I got a little nervous. But when the Principal called my name and I came through those doors, I was greeted by a standing ovation from the over 1000 students who chose to show up. That was my first clue that something had changed at North High. See ‘Milk’ Oscar Winner: My Emotional Voyage Home to High School
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Gay teen nonprofit closes doors
Gay teen nonprofit closes doors
Tags: Doors, Gay Teen, Nonprofit, Teen Gay
