Hate crime that has barely been seen in the news...
On April 12th of this year, in a small, poor town in Indiana, a young man was beaten to death over the course of hours, by other young men who have since claimed they killed him because he propositioned one of them. Before clicking on the links, I warn you, it is a really vicious, brutal crime, and the victim suffered for hours before his death.
Indiana has no laws for prosecuting hate crimes against gays and lesbians. Some locals are saying such laws imply that a gay person's life is worth more than a straight person's life. I would say that hate crime laws prevent murderers from claiming "gay panic" as a defense for murder and an attempt to gain sympathy from a jury they believe will be homophobic. This story has gotten little attention in the local or national news. Bloggers are mostly getting the word out.
Here are a few links to local papers and blogs that have covered the story.
http://bookshop.livejournal.com/834653.html?view=28843613
http://www.bloomingtonalternative.com/articles/2007/06/06/8379
http://bloomingtonalternative.com/content/8413
http://www.hatecrimesbill.org/aaron_hall/index.html
Also, a rather interesting reference to a psychological study that provides support for the theory that homophobic men are more likely to be repressing gay feelings than non-homophobic men.
http://www.unknownnews.net/homophobia.html
Indiana has no laws for prosecuting hate crimes against gays and lesbians. Some locals are saying such laws imply that a gay person's life is worth more than a straight person's life. I would say that hate crime laws prevent murderers from claiming "gay panic" as a defense for murder and an attempt to gain sympathy from a jury they believe will be homophobic. This story has gotten little attention in the local or national news. Bloggers are mostly getting the word out.
Here are a few links to local papers and blogs that have covered the story.
http://bookshop.livejournal.com/834653.html?view=28843613
http://www.bloomingtonalternative.com/articles/2007/06/06/8379
http://bloomingtonalternative.com/content/8413
http://www.hatecrimesbill.org/aaron_hall/index.html
Also, a rather interesting reference to a psychological study that provides support for the theory that homophobic men are more likely to be repressing gay feelings than non-homophobic men.
http://www.unknownnews.net/homophobia.html