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This is our area we call STOP HATE, where we post information on hate crimes, resources for help if you are in need, or want to help. We are currently trying our hardest to help our community! If you know of anything or want us to post anythign in this section please email us. Also, this is space to stop hate in our world like through our goverment and as people. We as the GLBT Community should be all allowed equal rights. This page is dedicated to all that!

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RECENT HATE CRIMES IN AND OUT OF NEWS:

Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado Hate Crime

The Man Who Gave Life Even In Death My name is Christopher Pagan. I am 24 years old, raised in New York and have been living in Puerto Rico since the age of 18. On November 13, the body parts of Jorge Steven Lopez were found on the side of an isolated road in Cayey Puerto Rico. Immediately the notion that this victim was a homosexual started to circle the local Puerto Rico community. As soon as I saw a name I searched for it on Facebook and saw what was a cyber shrine of messages indicating Rest in Peace, you will be missed, etc. As soon as news broke out the gay community began to demand information on the case. On Saturday more information was given as to who it was and that he had been killed, burned, decapitated and dismembered. Once the news aired on television the police officer at the time, before knowing what we now know about the murder said that “When one chooses this sort of lifestyle, these type of things happen”. The gay community was offended that on Puerto Rican television we were called side show freaks, that deserve whatever we get. As if a 19 year old was asking to be murdered and chopped up into pieces. I was compelled by all the messages left on his profile, but at the same time they angered me and fueled me. I never met Jorge but I doubted at that moment that messages on Facebook is what he wanted. What he wanted was justice and action. I took it upon myself to immediately write a letter of SOS nationwide and worldwide. I had stayed up until 6 AM Monday morning sending out to gay and straight media sites networks, celebrity activists, as well as human rights organizations. During the entire process of doing so, I became tired and stressed. A voice in my head was telling me that I was wasting my time on a cause that no one outside Puerto Rico would care about. What I did not understand is why I was persistent in doing so, I felt as if someone was pulling me by my ears and telling me to go on until my fingers go numb. Six o’clock approached I even caught myself falling asleep into my keyboard, it was time for bed. Around 9 AM, I am awaked by constant ringtones, my iphone. Mind you for me to wake up once I’m sleeping, it has to be a orchestra of ringtones. I was receiving emails from New York, Miami, California, Texas, Atlanta, Chicago, Canada, even Belgium. Thanking me for getting the news out to the world, and that they would post the article I had placed on IReports CNN, where one can place news that is not being made public. I was confused this was only a few hours ago, suddenly my letter of help was being posted and placed on front page features of 365gay.com, advocate.com, and other mainstream websites, saying that a cry for help from Christopher Pagan must go out. Suddenly 10 websites became 20, then 50, then hundreds. The world then knew who Jorge Steven Lopez was. Even radio stations were emailing me for info and thoughts and wanting interviews. Suddenly Puerto Rico and its LGBT were put on the map and the world was watching and waiting. The Sunday I had posted my letters, the local PR MEDIA SPOKE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT THIS CRIME. On Monday it all changed, IT WAS FRONT PAGE NEWS. The LGBT around the world were uniting together to fight and denounce hate and show Puerto Rico that they cared. Read more at CNN iREPORT WEBSITE

Jason Mattison Jr. Hate Crime

It didn't happen often, but sometimes a student - usually a boy - would poke fun at Jason Mattison Jr. About his skin-tight jeans and funky sweaters. About his boisterous voice that seemed to run nonstop. About his exuberance in recounting the most mundane of events. About his flamboyant mannerisms. He was 15, a sophomore in high school, and he was gay. When someone harassed him in the halls of West Baltimore's Vivian T. Thomas Medical Arts Academy, he had a sharp, witty comeback at the ready, and he walked away smiling. "Even if it hurt him, he gave the other person the impression he was stronger," recalled his English teacher, Ryan C. Jones. But while Jason appeared strong and confident in the safe confines of his school on North Calhoun Street, unafraid to embrace his sexual orientation as part of his personality, the world outside did not offer those same protections. Read more at THE BALTIMORE SUN WEBSITE

 

 

 

 

Angie Zapata Hate Crime

Angie Zapata was brutally murdered in Greeley, Colorado in July 2008. Angie was a transgender woman and she was murdered because of anti-transgender bias. On April 14, 2009, her alleged killer will go on trial in Greeley, Colorado. The trial marks the first time that Colorado’s gender identity-inclusive hate crimes statute—and in fact any state’s hate crimes law—has been applied in the investigation and prosecution of an anti-transgender murder case. The tragic circumstances of Angie’s death gives Coloradans an opportunity to better understand Angie’s life and the lives of transgender people. It offers a chance to talk about the importance of Colorado’s hate crime law. And it highlights the need to stop excluding people from the protections of a federal hate crimes law simply because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Visit Angie Zapata Site