ANOTHER SENSELESS DEATH!

A 20-Year Old Gay South Carolina Man is Dead In An Alleged Hate Crime .......

An 18 year old man is facing a murder charge after a man he punched died.

The Greenville County Sheriff's Office said that Sean William Kennedy, 20, was walking to his car from a local bar when a car stopped along side him. A man got out, approached Kennedy and then hit him in the face.

Witnesses said the man made a derogatory remark about Kennedy's sexuality. The twenty-year old was openly gay friends said.

Kennedy later died in hospital without regaining consciousness. Investigators believe that after he was punched Kennedy fell to the ground and hit his head on a curb or the pavement.

Based on witness accounts of the attacker and car Sheriff's deputies arrested Andrew Moller, 18.

Moller is being held without bond.

Investigators say they have not determined if the two men knew each other, or what led to the attack.

South Carolina does not have hate crime laws and sexuality is not covered under federal hate laws.

Legislation in Congress to add sexuality to federal law passed the House earlier this month and is pending in the Senate.

Shortly before the House vote the White House issued a statement that if the measure passes Congress the President's aides would recommend he veto it.

A poll released this week by Gallup found that despite the threatened veto 68 percent of Americans support the bill, also called the Matthew Shepard Act.

365gay.com

REMEMBERING SEAN WILLIAM KENNEDY

Look at the face of this young man. Look at the beauty in his eyes, the joy in his smile..... look at this young man and understand that he was killed because he was gay.

Look at this young man and call or write your senators.... tell them to pass the Matthew Shepard hate crimes bill.

DO IT TODAY!
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Elke Parker knew her son was special. But it wasn't until his death did she find out the extent of his talents.

"I am. I am who I am. I am the person you see. I would not change who I am for anybody," she read from part of Sean's writing called "I am."

There was another poem she found in Sean's things called "Grin."

"I stand tall with all of my pride. You hate. You discriminate all who are not like you. Yes, your words do hurt. But I stand in the end. I'm a strong person, bigger than you... I'll be standing there with a grin."

"I didn't know I had a poet," Elke said.

What she did know what that her son was handsome, talented, fun-loving and different.

"When Sean told me he was gay, he said mom, I understand if you don't want to love me anymore. I told him there is nothing, ever, that you can do to make me stop loving him," she said.

Sean was her third child, the baby of the family, and Elke says every one was behind him. They wanted him to be what he felt inside.

"I never thought that who sean was, is what would take his life," Elke said.

"You never think to talk to your son about do you want to be cremated or do you want to be buried?" Elke said.

The last week has pushed this mother, to almost break.

"I can't believe how much hate there is in this world," she said. Because she says her son was so much more than just a gay man.

"He was a leader. He was a friend. He was just a giver. No matter what you needed, you didn't even have to ask."

And it was the giving heart that packed Sean's funeral with almost 700 people. Then there were the ones who couldn't make the service.

"On his Myspace we had over 50,000 hits within two days, with messages from people. We knew Sean, we loved Sean, he did this for me, this is how he helped me."

A bit of comfort to his mother.

"I am proud that I was his mom. No. I am proud that I am his mom, not was."

Pride that will not let her son's spirit fade. So Elke will be pushing for a hate crime bill in South Carolina in Sean's memory.

"It may not help Sean today, but I want it to help future victims that they can be assured that there is justice."

Justice for Sean.

"If your son or daughter is different, you need to support them for who they really need to be," Elke said.

And who Sean was lives on in his infectious smile.

"This young man made such an impact on people's lives. He died way too soon, but, he will be remembered," Elke said.

The family believes it was hate behind the blows thrown outside Brew's.

Federal and local law enforcement agents are still trying to figure out if 18-year-old Steven Andrew Moller will be charged with a hate crime in the death.

He has already been charged with murder.

NOTE: I wrote about Sean Kennedy's murder on May 19, 2007. I did not have the photographs or his mother's comments at that time. I want this young man's murder to have an impact..... the HATE must stop!

I've brought the original post forward. It's directly below this post.

MURDERED ~ for being gay

Vigils were held throughout the state of Florida today in memory of Ryan Keith Skipper, a 25-year-old Polk County man who was viciously murdered on March 14, 2007; his body left on the side of a road in what the Sheriff's office is classifying as an anti-gay hate crime.

Ryan was brutally stabbed at least 20 times and his car and a laptop computer were stolen. According to witnesses, two suspects drove Ryan's bloody car around and bragged to their friends about savagely killing him.

Joseph Eli Bearden, 21, and William David Brown Jr., 20, (giving the standard excuse that Ryan was trying to hit on them) were indicted this past Friday and face charges of first-degree murder and robbery with a deadly weapon.

Ryan's murder was not an isolated incident, but rather the latest in an epidemic of anti-gay hate violence in Florida and around the nation. Anti-gay hate crimes are at their highest level ever in Florida, and second only to racist attacks in overall numbers.

According to the Florida Attorney General's office, hate crimes targeting LGBT Floridians have increased 33% in the most violent categories during the two most recently reported years. The silence of Florida's leadership in the face of this brutal murder must not go unchallenged.

Living in Florida, I only read about this murder today. Although Ryan was killed one month ago, this is sadly not the first example of a mainstream media blackout when it comes to gay men being murdered or going missing.

We are still waiting for the big media to cover the cases of three young gay men who have been missing for years in the Tampa Bay area.

James Shumaker has been missing since Oct. 20, 1995; Bradley Lee Williams has been missing since June 9, 2001; and Mark Allen Thompson vanished Nov. 1, 2001. The cases have never received any statewide or national attention.

Likewise, the murders of Jason Galehouse and Michael Waccholtz in December 2003 received almost no coverage before the arrest of the suspect, Steven Lorenzo.

The Faces of Homophobia

These are the faces of hate, homophobia and murder ..... how ironic that they will hopefully spend the rest of their lives surrounded only by other men.

A grand jury indicted Joseph Eli Bearden, 21 (left), and William David Brown Jr., 20, on charges of first-degree murder and robbery with a deadly weapon in the death of Wahneta resident Ryan Skipper.

The pair could face the death penalty if convicted of the brutal stabbing and robbery of Skipper, whose body was found by a passing motorist at 1:20 a.m. March 14 near Morgan Road and Logan Lane.

Skipper had been stabbed at least 20 times, and his car and laptop computer were stolen.

Skipper's 2007 Chevrolet Aveo was located shortly before 6 p.m. March 14 in Winter Haven at a boat ramp on Lake Pansy, according to sheriff's spokeswoman Carrie Rodgers.

The Sheriff's Office has described Skipper's killing as a hate crime because Skipper was a homosexual.

This murder has been filled with inconsistencies, indirectly blaming Ryan for his own murder.

It is extremely unusual for the arrest record of a murder victim to be released, but when Bearden and Brown were arrested, Sheriff Judd announced that Ryan Skipper had been arrested twice as a juvenile on minor marijuana charges. Conversely, he glossed over the alleged killers’ records, describing them as nonviolent.

If he had been more forthcoming, it would have been clear that these two young men have been up to no good for a while.

Joe Bearden, 21, has seven prior arrests in Polk County, including one for grand theft auto.

William Brown, 20, had been arrested just six days before the murder on cyberstalking charges. He has at least four prior arrests in Polk County.

Finally, Sheriff Judd suggested that while no one deserved to be murdered, Ryan Skipper had it coming. He told the Lakeland Ledger, "What we do know is that Ryan was looking for someone to pick up that evening. And unfortunately for Ryan, he picked up the wrong person."

The Conservative Hate Agenda

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Socially conservative groups appear resigned to the likelihood the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act will be passed by Congress and are now turning their opposition to calling for President Bush to veto it.

The House is expected to vote on the bill on Thursday. The legislation would add crimes based on sexuality to the federal hate crime law.

Also called the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act it would allow the Department of Justice to assist local authorities in investigating and prosecuting cases in which violence occurs.

FBI statistics show that one in six hate crimes is motivated by the victim’s sexual orientation.

The American Family Association has sent an alert to thousands of its members calling on them to email and phone the White House to call for a veto.

"The Hate Crimes Act criminalizes a vast array of state and local acts and threatens religious leaders with criminal prosecution for their thoughts, beliefs, and statements," AFA claims - something supporters of the bill and LGBT civil rights groups dispute.

The hate crime bill passed the House in the last Congress but was dropped in the then Republican-controlled Senate last year.

Although the bill has bi-partisan support, with Democrats now in control of both houses in Congress it is seen as having a better chance of passage.

The legislation has the support of LGBT civil rights groups and has been endorsed by more than 210 law enforcement, civil rights, civic and religious organizations, including: the National Sheriffs' Association, International Association of Chiefs of Police, U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association.

Hate stops here!

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(Washington) Legislation that would add crimes based on sexuality to the federal hate crime law passed out of the House Judiciary Committee late Wednesday night and now heads to the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote.

Called the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, it would allow the Department of Justice to assist local authorities in investigating and prosecuting cases in which violence occurs.

"Law enforcement is now one step closer to getting the extra tools they need to combat hate violence,"said Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese in a statement.

"Hate crimes continue to spread fear and violence among entire communities of Americans and currently, law enforcement can use these additional tools and resources to prevent and prosecute them."

The bill was introduced in the House in March. A companion bill was filed in the Senate earlier this month.

The measure passed the House in the last Congress but was dropped in the then Republican-controlled Senate last year.

Although the bill has bi-artisan support, with Democrats now in control of both houses in Congress it is seen as having a better chance of passage.

FBI statistics show that one in six hate crimes is motivated by the victim' sexual orientation.

The legislation has been endorsed by more than 210 law enforcement, civil rights, civic and religious organizations, including: the National Sheriffs' Association, International Association of Chiefs of Police, U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association.

The legislation also is strongly supported by the majority of Americans, according to a new poll.

The survey, conducted by Peter Hart Research Associates, found three in four voters favor strengthening hate crimes laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

Tennessee Hate Crime

Three teens - two of them 15 and one 16 - have been charged with hate crimes, vandalism and delinquency following a series of incidents involving an Irving College gay man. Police say that in one incident the historic home belonging to Neal Anthony hadr "Fags deserve to die", and "gays go to hell" painted on it. A rock was thrown through the window of the house, which has been in Anthony's family for three generations.

Security locks were smashed and his mailbox was destroyed.

Several weeks ago a group of people all terrain vehicles drove by the house, yelling gay slurs and shooting about 80 paintballs at the house.

Police say that under questioning the teens confessed, and they said they targeted Anthony's home because he is gay.

The juveniles, who cannot be named because of their ages, will appear in court on Thursday for arraignment.

The home was built by Anthony's family in the mid 1800s.

He says that the fact he is gay has never been a secret around town. He lives with his partner, Michael Duncan, and the two are well known in the community.

But he says some people in town are trying to drive him out of the community - something he vows is not going to be achieved.

Tennessee law covers hate crimes based on sexual orientation but not gender identity, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

But federal hate laws do not cover gays.

On Tuesday the Matthew Shepard hate crime bill received its first committee hearing in Congress. (story)

The bill, also known as the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, was named for the gay college student who was killed in a homophobic attack in Wyoming in 1998. It was introduced in the Senate last week. (story) A similar bill was reintroduced in the House last month. (story)

The bill would allow the Department of Justice to assist local authorities in investigating and prosecuting cases in which violence occurs and add gays and lesbians to the categories protected under the legislation.

Colorado Gay Teen Assaulted

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PUEBLO, Colo. -- An openly gay high school student in Pueblo was assaulted by six of his fellow students last week because of his sexual orientation, his family said Tuesday.

The attack happened last Thursday while the 15-year-old boy was walking home from Centennial High School, his mother, Theresa Ornelas, said.

Anthony Hergesheimer was alone when a vehicle with six teenagers inside passed him four times along Denver Boulevard.

The vehicle finally stopped and someone threw objects at him and shouted derogatory insults at him, Ornelas said.

"One of the boys got out and he hit me on my eye, right on my face with a full can of Lysol," Hergesheimer said. "My nose just started gushing everywhere."

Hergesheimer said he ran to a nearby house for help.

He suffered a black eye, severe damage to his face and a broken nose. He must undergo surgery on his nose and forehead Wednesday, Ornelas said.

Hergesheimer said he was attacked because he is openly gay.

"I'm very upset. Yeah, my son is gay. But that shouldn't matter. He should be proud of who he is," Ornelas said.

"It's frustrating. We can get mad, (but) at the end, they will get what they deserve," said Hergesheimer's stepfather Michael Ornelas.

Hergesheimer said taunting began at school earlier in the day.

"They said things to me like, 'You, fag, this and you, fag, that,' and then they walked off," he said.

Ornelas said her son had also received a threatening e-mail prior to the attack.

"We are looking into it. It's an assault that we are calling a hate crime," said deputy chief John Ereul of the Pueblo Police Department.

Three of the six suspects have been interviewed and all three admitted to the crime, police said. Police said because of the seriousness of the case, felony charges could be filed.

The school district was alerted to the incident and conducted its own investigation. The Pueblo City Schools then suspended the six students in question.

"Students are considered in the jurisdiction or care of the district en route to or form school until they cross their front door," said district spokesman Greg Sinn. "Given the level of violence involved and apparently being a bias-motivated crime, Pueblo City Schools is taking this matter very seriously. The findings of our investigation may be result in a recommendation of expulsion for all six suspects."

The school district has 25 days to make a recommendation to the superintendent and conduct hearings in cases of expulsion. It is likely that the six suspects will be placed on extended suspension pending the outcome of the investigation.

Hergesheimer said he will return to school next week, and he said he feels confident that the majority of his classmates will accept him.

"You shouldn't be afraid to be who you are. Of course there will be people who won't agree with you," he said. "But you shouldn't be scared to be who you are."

"You can't sit and cry about it. It's not going to change what happened to him," Theresa Ornelas said. "He has no choice but to move forward. And if his story can help someone else, then so be it. That's all I want from this."

The Matthew Shepared Act

(AP) Clergy from across the country gathered on Capitol Hill Tuesday to call for passage of the Matthew Shepard Act and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, as hearings began for the Shepard hate crime bill.
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"We are people of faith, and we also have a commitment to truth," said the Rev. William Sinkford, president of the Unitarian Universalist Association.

"Much of the rhetoric in opposition to these bills is blatantly and inexcusably false. So let me be clear: These laws would not create quotas or force churches to hire people who do not share their religious values. These laws will not criminalize free speech or impede religious expression in any way. These laws do not undermine a single constitutional right. In fact, the contrary is true."

The Matthew Shepard Act, also known as the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, was named for the gay college student who was killed in a homophobic attack in Wyoming in 1998. It was introduced in the Senate last week. A similar bill was reintroduced in the House last month.

The bill would allow the Department of Justice to assist local authorities in investigating and prosecuting cases in which violence occurs and add gays and lesbians to the categories protected under the legislation.

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act would address discrimination in the workplace by making it illegal to fire, refuse to hire or refuse to promote an employee simply based on the person's sexual orientation or gender identity. It would reinforce the principle that employment decisions should be based on a person's qualifications and job performance.