Stephen V. Sprinkle's Blog, page 27

Honoring LGBTQ Veterans 2011

For Veterans Day 2011: The grave of Leonard P. Matlovich, Technical Sergeant, United States Air Force (July 6, 1943 – June 22, 1988).

"When I was in the Military they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one."- Leonard Matlovich 1975

We must not forget at what price LGB service members can now wear the uniform openly.  And, we dare not ignore the grave injustice to Transgender Americans who still cannot.

Tagged: Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT), GLBTQ, LGBTQ, military, Remembrances, Veterans Day

Texas Lesbian Gay Bashed in San Antonio

Kristen Cooper, Bashed for Being Lesbian (KENS 5 photo)

San Antonio, Texas – An out lesbian student from the University of Texas at San Antonio says that she was assaulted by two men calling her obscene, anti-LGBTQ epithets over Halloween weekend. Kristen Cooper told KENS 5 that the only thing the two men who attacked her knew about her prior to the assault was that she was a lesbian. "I just think it was a hate crime against me," she sad, still shaken by the incident.

Cooper says she was waiting for a ride from a local Halloween Party when two men stopped their van, grabbed her, beat her while yelling slurs about her sexual orientation, and drove her some distance before they pushed her out and drove away.  Cooper fought back against them, "full-fist," probably putting up such resistance that her assailants decided it wasn't worth the effort. She had no cell phone, so she walked a long distance before someone noticed her, stopped, and then called the police.

Cooper's injuries were extensive: cuts, bruises, a contusion, a concussion, and whiplash. When asked how she was coping with the attack, Cooper said to KENS 5, "Just still in shock and I'm trying really hard not to cry, but nothing like this should happen to anybody." The San Antonio Police are currently investigating the crime as an assault, with no word about whether they intend to classify the brutal beating as an anti-LGBTQ hate crime.

Tagged: Anglo Americans, Anti-LGBT hate crime, Beatings and battery, gay bashing, GLBTQ, Hate Crimes, Heterosexism and homophobia, Law and Order, Lesbians, LGBTQ, Texas, Unsolved LGBT hate crimes

Detroit Trans Teen's Remains Found Burned Near Interstate

Michele "Shelley" Hilliard, 19, had to be ID'ed by a tattoo on her upper arm.

Detroit, Michigan – The charred torso of a missing teen transwoman of color was found this week near Interstate 94 on Detroit's east side.  Michele "Shelley" Hilliard, 19, was last seen on October 23 at 1:20 a.m., and was reported missing, according to the Detroit Free Press.  Though her facial features and fingerprints were destroyed by fire, investigators were able to make a positive identification because of a distinctive tattoo depicting cherries inked into her upper right arm.  Her mother, summoned by the Wayne County Examiners Office, also confirmed the identity of her child from the tattoo on the burnt remains. Police are now investigating Ms. Hilliard's death as a homicide.  There is no word about whether a transphobic hate crime is suspected by the authorities, but the disappearance coupled with the attempted immolation of the remains is a familiar signature of anti-trans hate crimes.  Equality Michigan is aiding the Detroit Police Department in their investigation, according to CBS Detroit.  Michigan's hate crimes law does not include LGBTQ persons as protected classes, making it harder to compel law enforcement to regard violence against the queer community as hate crimes.

In little more than two weeks, three gay men, Steven Iorio from Pennsylvania, Burke Burnett of Texas, and Stuart Walker from Scotland were either attacked by homophobes wielding fire as a weapon, or had their remains immolated after death. Now the immolated remains of transgender Shelley Hilliard are discovered on a Detroit Interstate service road, raising the question of how often fire is employed as a weapon of transphobic/homophobic terror.  As Philip M. Miner of the Center for Homicide Research points out for the Huffington Post, while between 600 and 700 people are killed by arson every year in the United States, fully 26 per cent of this total is from the gay and transgender community.  Miner observes that the use of fire and arson as hate crimes weapons against the LGBTQ community is normally thoroughly planned out ahead of time. He writes: "Attacks involving arson are especially brutal. Meticulous care is taken in carrying them out. The violence is heaped on . . . [Anti-LGBTQ arson attacks] are wrought with meaning," Miner continues. "The offender wants there to be no doubt that this violence was intentional. In the case of hate crimes, it's a warning. This is what happens when you are gay. This is what these people get — what they deserve." 

Equality Michigan points out in its report on transgender hate violence, "During the first half of 2011, Equality Michigan received reports of 83 incidents of violence or intimidation targeting gay and transgender residents that are considered hate crimes under the [federal] Shepard-Byrd Act. However, because the statewide hate crime law is not comprehensive, incidents against gay and transgender Michiganders that are clearly motivated by anti-gay or anti-transgender bias are ignored as hate crimes."  As a case in point, advocates are watching the Hilliard case especially closely.

Michele "Shelley" Hilliard was nicknamed "Treasure." The irony of her murder, a young transwoman who had courage enough to transition into the authentic person she truly was, is that only now do we begin to understand the treasure we have lost in her passing.

Tagged: African Americans, Anglo Americans, Anti-LGBT hate crime, anti-LGBT hate crime murder, Arson, Burning and Branding, Center for Homicide Research, Equality Michigan, gay bashing, gay men, GLBTQ, Hate Crimes, hate crimes legislation, hate crimes statistics, Heterosexism and homophobia, immolation, LGBTQ, Matthew Shepard Act, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Social Justice Advocacy, transgender persons, transphobia, Unsolved LGBT hate crimes

Breaking: Alleged East Texas Gay Bashers Charged with Hate Crimes

Burke Burnett, gay bashing victim, shows bandaged burns and cuts (Advocate photo)

Paris, Texas – Three alleged gay bashers in the horrific Reno gay bashing case will face hate crimes enhancement charges, as reported by the Paris Times and the Dallas Voice. A Lamar County Grand Jury on Thursday indicted James Mitchell Lasater III, 31, of Paris, Micky Joe Smith, 25, of Brookston,and Daniel Shawn Martin, 33, of Paris with one count each of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and two counts each of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury. Additionally, Lasater and Smith were charged as repeat offenders. Because aggravated assault is classified as a second-degree felony offense, the alleged offenders were eligible under the Texas Hate Crimes statute for hate crimes enhancements, and that is exactly what the grand jury elected to do.  On October 30 in the early morning, 26-year-old Burke Burnett was savagely attacked by three suspects whom witnesses say were yelling anti-gay slurs as they beat Burnett senseless, stabbed and slashed his body with a broken beer bottle, and then heaved him bodily into a burning trash barrel. Burnett suffered stab wounds resulting in over 30 stitches, deep bruises and contusions, and second-degree burns over a good portion of his torso, legs, and arms.

The Dallas Voice broke the story with graphic photos of Burnett's injuries embedded in the article, and the story took hold in national mainstream media.  Burnett has been interview around the nation, as horror and interest increased in the story. Burnett told the Dallas Voice he is pleased with the course of the investigation, the arrests, and now with the efforts of the Lamar County District Attorney.  WFAA Television reported Burnett came out when he was 15, and learned of the hate crime murder of Matthew Shepard, the University of Wyoming student slain in Laramie in 1998.  "Matthew Shepard is one of the reasons I came out of the closet," Burnett told WFAA. "I'm so glad my fate did not end up like his." He has no doubt about why he was targeted for violence, since the trio knew his was gay.  As he sat in a chair at a private Halloween party in Reno, a small town near Paris, Texas, the men attacked him from behind. Burnett said, "I ended up getting stabbed, burned and beaten pretty badly and I'm convinced they were trying to kill me."

Since few hate crime attacks against Texans are actually charged under the state hate crimes law, the decision of law enforcement and the grand jury to go forward with hate crimes charges against Burnett's alleged bashers is significant.  Since "sexual preference" was included as a protected category in the state statute in 2001, better than 2500 hate crimes have been committed, by fewer than twelve have actually been charged as such. Now that the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act became federal law in 2009, allowing the Department of Justice and the FBI to involve themselves in investigating and prosecuting anti-LGBT hate crimes around the nation, Texas officials seem to have felt pressure to act more transparently and boldly on hate crimes cases in the Lone Star State.

Tagged: Anglo Americans, Anti-LGBT hate crime, Beatings and battery, FBI, gay bashing, gay men, GLBTQ, Hate Crimes, hate crimes legislation, Heterosexism and homophobia, Law and Order, LGBTQ, Matthew Shepard, Matthew Shepard Act, perpetrators, Slurs and epithets, Texas, U.S. Justice Department, Wyoming

Illinois Teen Sentenced for Gay Bashing

Marquitte West, 18, sentenced in gay bashing attack (Kendall County photo)

Yorkville, Illinois- An 18-year-old man was sentenced by an Illinois court to two years in prison for his role in a violent attack upon a gay man.  Marquitte West was found guilty of hate crime related to sexual orientation for participating in a gang attack against 29-year-old gay man Bryce Stiff in June 2010.  Both men are from Oswego, Illinois, a city of 30,000 in the northern part of the state.  Two other Oswego men, Jabari Tuggles and Robert Franklin, are being held in prison awaiting their trials for the same offense. A third man is still being sought by the police.

Stiff suffered severe injuries in the attack, leaving him with nerve damage to his face, and a lip so harmed that he has required reconstructive surgery.  He has lingering psychological problems since the savage assault, as well.  In a letter to the court prior to West's sentencing, Stiff wrote, "I used to be a happy, caring and loving person who would do anything to help anyone.  I was happy about me being gay … but now I'm filled with so much bitterness, hatred and I'm very depressed. I don't like leaving my home. I don't like doing things that excite me anymore. I feel like everyone is out to get me."

According to Chicago Pride, West will serve out his sentence in conjunction with a theft charge.  He is required by the court to pay his victim's medical costs.  The Kendall County District Attorney told Chicago Pride that this is the first hate crimes prosecution he can recall in county history.

Tagged: African Americans, Anglo Americans, Anti-LGBT hate crime, Beatings and battery, gay bashing, gay men, GLBTQ, Hate Crimes, Heterosexism and homophobia, Illinois, Law and Order, LGBTQ, perpetrators

Celebrate Lesbian Pioneer, Phyllis Lyon!

Phyllis Lyon, hero of the LGBTQ Civil Rights Movement

Today is Phyllis Lyon's 87th birthday, and we at the Unfinished Lives Project pause to celebrate her life and work as a pioneer of the LGBTQ Civil Rights Movement.  Born November 10, 1924 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Phyllis earned a journalism degree from the University of California at Berkeley. She, along with her spouse, Del Martin, founded the Daughters of Bilitis in San Francisco in 1955, the first lesbian social and political organization in the world, along with a handful of other courageous lesbians.  In 1956, Phyllis became the first Editor of the landmark lesbian paper, "The Ladder," from 1956 until 1960 when Del took over from her.  In 1964, she and Del co-founded the Council on Religion and the Homosexual, bringing religious leaders together for the first time to address the roles of queer women and men in communities of faith, and to encourage faith groups to accept LGBTQ people.  She and Del were active in the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club, and were the first lesbian couple to join the National Organization for Women (NOW). In the 1960s and '70s, they used their influence to de-criminalize lesbian and gay behavior.  In 1995, the couple were prominently active in the White House Council on the Aging.

Coming out in the 1950s was tricky and dangerous.  Originally, Phyllis used the pseudonym "Ann Ferguson" in her writing and editorial work, but dropped it to come out openly and fully as an encouragement to all LGBTQ people to speak the truth as who we are.  Interviewed by young queer journalists during the 2009 National Equality March in Washington, D.C., Phyllis reflected on the courage it took to live openly as a lesbian or gay man in the Eisenhower Era. She told her teen interviewers for The Advocate, "The time was not the time when you could wear a sign that said, 'Hi, I'm a lesbian, be friendly with me!'" 

Phyllis and Del met in Seattle in 1950, and became lovers in 1952. In 1953, they moved to San Francisco. In February 2004, they were issued a Marriage License by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome, and were married–only to have their marriage dissolved by the California Supreme Court that same year.  Not to be denied, Phyllis and Del were the first couple to be legally married in San Francisco City Hall on June 16, 2008 once the California Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage was legal in the Golden State–in fact the only couple married that day by the mayor. Del passed away later that year.

"We've come a long way from our goal in the 1950s, part of which was to get laws against sexual activity between consenting adults of the same sex wiped off the books," Phyllis told the Noe Valley Voice in February 2003. "The other part was to be considered part of society. We wanted our full rights and responsibilities." She and Del succeeded, on our behalf.  The contribution they made to the full recognition and protection of LGBTQ people in America is beyond calculation.  So, we at the Unfinished Lives Project salute Phyllis Lyon today as a sign of hope and a hero of our work.  Happy Birthday, Phyllis!




Tagged: Anglo Americans, Bisexual persons, California, Daughters of Bilitis, gay men, GLBTQ, Heterosexism and homophobia, Lesbians, LGBTQ, Marriage Equality, National Organization for Women, Oklahoma, Social Justice Advocacy, transgender persons, transphobia, Washington D.C., Washington state

Unfinished Lives Project Director Honored Nationally

Honoree Stephen V. Sprinkle (Phoebe Sexton photo for Cathedral of Hope)

Naming him among activist "trailblazers" who have knocked down barriers to LGBT equality, Queerty.com honored Unfinished Lives Project Founder and Director, Dr. Stephen V. Sprinkle as one of in the United States. As the capstone to Queerty's celebration of LGBT History Month, the editorial team decided to honor LGBT activists who had dedicated their lives and work to bringing full equality for LGBTQ people.

Dr. Sprinkle was cited for his work in organized religion, as a pioneer gay scholar at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas, and for his efforts in anti-LGBTQ hate crimes education and prevention.  In response to the news, Dr. Sprinkle said, "I am moved by this honor, naming me among such a distinguished group of LGBT seniors.  Gray is good!  I also want to lift up the multitudes of queer folk whose labors every day for justice go largely unseen and unsung.  In their names, I accept this honor from Queerty."  Also named were West Hollywood, California psychologist and Radical Faerie co-founder Don Kilhefner; groundbreaking Chicago, Illinois activist Vernita Gray; New York City LGBT activist Jay Kallio; and Davis, California Marriage Equality champions Shelly Bailes and Ellen Pontiac, who were among the first LGBT couples to be legally married in the Golden State.

Tagged: African Americans, Anglo Americans, Asian Americans, Bisexual persons, Brite Divinity School, gay men, GLBTQ, Hate Crimes, hate crimes prevention, Latino / Latina Americans, Lesbians, LGBTQ, Native Americans, Queerty.com, Social Justice Advocacy, transgender persons [image error] [image error] [image error]

2 Arrested in Savage Gay Bashing Case in East Texas: Breaking News

James "Tray" Laster III, and Daniel Martin (l to r; Lamar County Sheriff's Department photo)

Reno, Texas – Two local men were arrested this morning for the barbaric beating and burning of a gay man at a party in Reno, Texas this past Sunday.  Dallas Voice broke the story this morning, reporting that Reno Police Chief Jeff W. Sugg announced the arrests of James "Tray" Laster III, 31, and Daniel Martin, 33, for their role in one of the most savage anti-gay attacks in recent East Texas history.  26 year old Burke Burnett was slashed on his forearm and his back with a broken beer bottle, he was punched and beaten, and then heaved into a burning metal barrel in the early morning hours of  October 30. Narrowly escaping with his life, thanks to the action of girlfriends on the scene, Burnett was given over 30 stitches to close the wounds, and his second-degree burns were treated.  But the psychological trauma of the attack will take much longer to heal.

Burnett and his friends say they have no doubt that homophobia fueled the assault.  The assailants shouted gross obscenities and anti-gay epithets as they pressed their attack against Burnett.  But whether the men will be prosecuted under the state's hate crime statute is in doubt.  The main charges lodged against the suspects, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and aggravated assault inflicting serious bodily injury, area first degree felonies that could carry a sentence of five to 99 years, if the men are convicted.  But the Texas hate crime law, though it does include "sexual preference" as a category, will not offer a sentence enhancement if the crime is determined to be a first degree felony.  The Dallas Voice opined yesterday that it was unlikely that the hate crime charge would be pressed in this case, though that call remains with the Lamar County District Attorney Gary Young. LGBT activists and allies across the state have been critical of how rarely the Texas hate crime statute is invoked in cases of anti-LGBTQ violence as seemingly clear as this one.  As of the 2010 Texas Department of Public Safety statistical report on hate crimes in the Lone Star State, over 2500 bias crimes have been reported since the law was enacted in 2001, while only 11 had been prosecuted, as reported by KXAN.

Tagged: Anglo Americans, Anti-LGBT hate crime, Beatings and battery, Burning and Branding, gay bashing, gay men, GLBTQ, Hate Crime Statistics, Hate Crimes, hate crimes legislation, Heterosexism and homophobia, Law and Order, LGBTQ, perpetrators, Slurs and epithets, Social Justice Advocacy, stabbings, Texas [image error] [image error]

Gay Texan Savagely Attacked with Broken Beer Bottle, Then Thrown in Fire

Burke Burnett, hate crime victim (Dallas Voice image)

Reno, Texas – A gay man attending a private party in Reno, a town near Paris, Texas, was brutally attacked with a broken bottle and then thrown bodily into a flaming fire barrel on Sunday because he was gay.  The Dallas Voice broke the story, quoting 26-year-old victim Burke Burnett as saying on Monday, "They knew I was gay. I'm convinced they were trying to kill me."  Burnett told John Wright of the Voice. Four men shouting epithets like "gay bitch," "cock-sucking punk," and "pussy-ass faggot," lunged at Burnett, stabbing him with a broken beer bottle, beating him, and then heaving him into the fire.  Burnett was rushed by girlfriends to a hospital in Sulphur Springs, about 30 miles away.  He suffered contusions, bruises, and second degree burns.  The slashes with the broken bottle require over 30 stitches.

The Reno Police Department played down the attack to the press, saying little more than that the case was still under investigation.  Burnett told the Voice that officers on the scene told him that the crime was going to be classified as bias-driven, but that the assailants, whose identities are known, could take more than two weeks before their arrests.  Another local source said that Reno police were considering lowering the degree of the offenses to misdemeanors since they took place during a party. Meanwhile, Burnett is hoping that his injuries do not disable him or prove to be permanent.

Burnett credits his girlfriends with preventing his injuries from being much worse,  They slowed down his attackers long enough for him to escape to a parked vehicle.  Then, they took him to the hospital for treatment.  The New Civil Rights Movement echoes the Dallas Voice, reporting that none of the other 20 party-goers attempted to stop the attack.

Tagged: Anglo Americans, Beatings and battery, gay bashing, gay men, GLBTQ, Hate Crimes, Heterosexism and homophobia, immolation, LGBTQ, Slurs and epithets, stabbings, Texas, Unsolved anti-LGBT crimes [image error] [image error]

Lives of Colorado Lesbian Couple Threatened in Hate Crime

Lesbian couple threatened with death

Parker, Colorado – A lesbian couple were tagged by a death threat on two consecutive days last week in Parker, a town southeast of Denver.  On Friday, Aimee Whitchurch and Christel Conklin found a target symbol spray painted on their condo door and the phrase, "KILL THE GAYS," tagged on their garage door in bright red paint for all the neighbors to see. The next morning, they opened their front door to find a noose laid on their door mat.  Whitchurch said that when they discovered the noose, they knew their lives really were at risk.

Not the types to let such serious matters go, the couple responded by complaining to the Home Owners Association of their condo complex, whose president haphazardly splashed white paint over the red spray paint Saturday.  His less-than-professional job barely covered the graffiti, and exacerbated the problem.  Whitchurch and Conklin responded by taping a sign to the garage door that read, "Solve the problem; don't paint over it."  The couple told Channel 9 News that they were sure their sexual orientation was the reason for the hateful graffiti attack and the noose. Whitchurch said the neighbors figured out they were not "roommates," and took homophobic action against them.  As Conklin said in the same interview, "Being lesbians is okay, until you start living together," in Douglas County. "This is where we live. We should feel safe. I am afraid to walk outside my place now," Whitchurch said.  The couple have lived in the condo for nearly six months.

A feud had been brewing between the neighbors and the lesbian couple, according to the women.  The Advocate reported that the HOA had complained that they were not picking up the feces after walking their dogs. Conklin answered the charges in detail to Channel 9: "It ridiculous. We have a Mastiff and a Great-Dane, two of the largest breed dogs, if we didn't pick up after them this entire place would be covered. It's completely invalid. That's just common sense," she said. The couple also own an English Bulldog puppy.  Since the initial attack, the lesbians' car has been keyed, and dog feces has been scattered on their property.  Channel 9 reporters have repeatedly tried to contact the HOA officers for a statement, but no one has returned the calls.

Douglas County Sheriff's Office investigators have been on the case, but have surfaced no persons of interest.  Detective Ron Hanovan said to Channel 9: "Right now, we don't have any leads and no one is in custody." Two offenses are involved in this attack, Hanovan went on to say, criminal mischief over $1,000, and anti-LGBT crime.  Conklin and Whitchurch say they are taking this case to the FBI.

The HOA finally sent a reputable painter to cover the slipshod work the HOA president did on the couple's garage door.  In the meanwhile, Whitchurch and Conklin are not going anywhere.  They still walk their adult dogs, and their little bulldog, Ellie May.  On electric green and pink poster board, they have put up new signs the neighbors cannot miss.  One of them declares, "We are not the gay couple!  We are Aimee and Christal!"

Tagged: Anglo Americans, Anti-LGBT hate crime, Blame the victim, Colorado, death threats, FBI, GLBTQ, harassment, Hate Crimes, Law and Order, Lesbians, LGBTQ, Slurs and epithets, Unsolved anti-LGBT crimes, women [image error] [image error]