News, analysis and fact-checking of anti-gay rhetoric
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The FBI’s annual Hate Crime Statistics aren’t as complete as they ought to be, and their report for 2004 was no exception. In fact, their most recent report has quite a few glaring holes. Holes big enough for Daniel Fetty to fall through.
Losing Matt Shepard, by Beth Loffreda
The Laramie Project (2001). Starring: Kathleen Chalfant, Laura Linney Director: Moisés Kaufman
From Hate Crimes to Human Rights: A Tribute to Matthew Shepard, by Mary E. Swigonski, Robin S. Mama, Kelly Ward, Matthew Shepard (Editors)Today In History: Before Matthew Shepard
Jim Burroway
October 6th, 2008
Ten years ago today, the world had never heard of Matthew Shepard. That’s because up until ten years ago today, he was just another 21-year-old gay college student at the University of Wyoming in Laramie.
Well, not just another college student. He showed great promise. He had attended two years of high school at the American School in Switzerland during the time his family moved temporarily to Saudi Arabia. He had a particular talent for learning languages and he had a special love for community theater. In college, he was active in the university’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Association, and he was chosen as a student representative to the Wyoming Environmental Council. Friends described him as easy, outgoing, and approachable, with a special gift of relating to almost everyone.
And yet, he really was just another college kid. His mother, Judy Shepard, says he was ”just living his life as a 21-year-old college student who smoked too much, drank too much and didn’t study enough.”
But ten years ago today proved to be Matthew’s last full day as an ordinary college student.
Ten years ago today was a Tuesday, right in the middle of midterms at UW. Matthew had a French exam to study for, but he decided to wind up early that evening and go over to the LGBTA meeting. He went back home after the meeting, but then he decided to go out again to the Fireside Lounge. There, he met Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, who posed as visiting students from California.
Sometime after midnight, in the very early morning hours of ten years ago tomorrow, Matthew decided to take McKinney and Henderson up on an offer for a ride home.
And sometime after that, Matthew Shepard was no longer just an ordinary college student.
Larry King Killer Linked to Hate Literature
Timothy Kincaid
October 3rd, 2008
Since he was shot in the head on Valentines Day of this year, sympathy has seemed to shift from murder victim Larry King to his killer Brandon McInerney. Many, both straight and gay, have expressed concerns over trying McInerney as an adult and lamented the destruction of two young lives. And some felt that no hate crime had been committed.
Some, like Newsweek author Ramin Setoodeh, sought to portray McInerney as a good kid victimized by “inappropriate, sometimes harmful, behavior” from King who was flamboyant and “flaunted his sexuality and wielded it like a weapon”.
Now information has come to light that may challenge McInerney’s image as a squeeky clean white boy who just couldn’t take Larry King’s advances any more.
The LA Times reports:
Investigators seized white supremacist materials, including doodlings of Nazi swastikas, from the bedroom of Brandon McInerney, the 14-year-old Oxnard student accused of gunning down his gay classmate.
The prosecution considered McInerney’s attention in such literature in its decision to add the hate crime charge. His attorney, who has been seeking to convict King, the school, and administrators in the court of public opinion, sought to excuse the findings.
He said McInerney had the items because he was writing a school paper on Adolf Hitler. He also shared an interest in the German military with other family members, Quest said.
Yes, no doubt he did have an interest in the German military and Hitler. But Quest does not describe how reading skinhead, white supremacist literature and scrawling swaztikas prepared McInerney to write his paper.
“Provoking Smile” Defense Rejected in Murder Case
Jim Burroway
September 19th, 2008
We’ve had some strange defense excuses in LGBT murder hate crime cases, excuses which often amount to blaming the victim. But the most outrageous example has to be this one: a defendant in a Denver-area murder case who complained that “she smiled at me.”
Yesterday, Weld County (Colorado) District Judge Marcelo Kopcow ruled against a motion to lower the charge in the case of murdered transwoman Angie Zapata from first degree murder to second degree murder. Her killers lawyers contended that the defendant, Allen Andrade, was provoked into killing her when she smiled at him:
Only when Andrade grabbed at Zapata’s crotch did he discover the truth. But when she smiled at him and said, “I’m all woman,” it drove an enraged Andrade to commit murder, attorney Annette Kundelius said.
“At best, this is a case about passion,” Kundelius said. “When (Zapata) smiled at him, this was a highly provoking act, and it would cause someone to have an aggressive reaction.”
Judge Kopcow ruled against the request, citing evidence that Andrade killed Angie deliberately, hitting her several times with a fire extinguisher. He also expressed anger against gays while in custody, and repeatedly referred to Angie as “it.” Judge Kopcow also declined to drop the hate crime charge in connection with the felony.
Suspected Gay Bashing Victim Dies
Jim Burroway
September 18th, 2008
Tony Randolph Hunter, 27, of Clinton, Md., was pronounced dead at Howard University Hospital at 4:14 p.m. Wednesday. Tony died 10 days after police found him unconscious near Eighth and N Streets N.W., near a Washington, D.C. gay bar called BeBar.
According to police, the incident began when Tony and a friend, Trevor Carter, parked their car and were approached by four men. After one of the men asked, “What’s up?” the men began punching Tony and Trevor to the ground. Trever was able to flee the scene, and thought that Tony had done so as well, but Tony had already been knocked unconscious by the attackers. Police arrived at the scene after receiving a call about an unconscious person lying in the street.
Police are looking for four black males between the ages of 19 and 22. It is unknown at this time whether this is a hate crime. Police are investigating that possibility due to the location of the assault near the bar.
Knoxville Gays On Edge; Local MCC Church Wants To See Letter
Jim Burroway
July 31st, 2008
Rev. Bob Galloway of Knoxville’s Metropolitan Community Church wants to know what’s in Jim David Adkisson’s letter. He says that his parishoners won’t feel safe unless they know why the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church was targeted:
The more clarity, the better,” Galloway said. “We need to know what we’re dealing with. Is it just liberals he was targeting? Is it just gays? Was it all these things mixed together? We need to know.”
Galloway said his church serves about 180 people from around East Tennessee, about 85 percent of them gay or lesbian. Some members made a U-turn for home Sunday morning when they heard of a shooting at a liberal, gay-friendly church. “They thought it was us,” Galloway said.
Meanwhile, nine local Knoxville bands will hold a benefit at a local club on Friday evening, and TVUUC has set next Sunday for its rededication and reconsecration service. Members of the Unitarian Universalist Association Trauma Response Ministry who were sent to Knoxville will be on hand before and after the service.
See also:
Knoxville Gays On Edge; Local MCC Church Wants To See Letter
Relief Fund Set Up for Knoxville Churches
Thoughts and Prayers for Knoxville Shooting Victims
Knoxville Shooting Witness’s First-Hand Account
Knoxville Shooter Hated “Blacks, Gays, Anyone Different”
AFA Approved Comments: Knoxville Church Doing “Satan’s Work”
Knoxville Shooter Hated “Liberals,” Gays
Just Concluded: Knoxville Press Conference
Knoxville Shooter’s Manifesto Found
Gunman Opens Fire On Gay-Friendly Church, Two Killed
LaBarbera’s Incoherence on Hate Crimes
Jim Burroway
July 30th, 2008
Peter LaBarbera thinks that the media attention surrounding the Knoxville shooting “proves” that hate crime laws aren’t necessary. According to the American Family Association’s OneNewsNow:
The pro-family advocate adds that the homosexual movement gets favorable treatment within the media, and LaBarbera says with that type of coverage there is no need for special legislation to “give more attention and better treatment to this case.” He adds that with the media spotlight on the incident, “it proves our case” that hate crimes laws are not necessary.
The tortured logic behind this statement is astounding. LaBarbera constantly complains that gays are getting “favorable treatment” in the media. Now he says that gays don’t need hate crime protections because of that treatment. But if the media acted the way LaBarbera wants them to act – by only portraying gays and lesbians in a negative light – would he then agree that maybe hate crime protections are warranted? Don’t count on it.
Besides, here’s a news flash for LaBarbera. The FBI is already investigating this as a hate crime.
Why? According to Stacie Bohanan, spokeswoman for the FBI’s Knoxville division, “Anytime someone uses force to obstruct another person in the free exercise of their religious beliefs, that becomes a violation of the federal civil rights statutes.”
And according to police reports, it certainly appears that Jim David Adkisson targeted the church because of its “liberal” beliefs, which just happen to include a safe and welcoming haven for gays and transgender people.
So ironically, if authorities decide that Adkisson is guilty of a hate crime, it will be because he committed a crime based on the victim’s religious beliefs, which is protected. It’s the same protection that everyone enjoys, not just religious minorities. In 2006, the FBI recorded 62 anti-Protestant hate crime incidents. Last I checked, Protestants were hardly a persecuted minority. But when the law covers religion, it covers all religions — even atheists.
But if this same shooting had happened instead at an LGBT community center, the FBI would nowhere in sight. The same crime targeted against a different community would be treated very differently under the law.
Now if people like LaBarbera were arguing that there should be no hate crime laws period, then that would be different. But I don’t see him arguing that. He’s only arguing that existing laws should not be extended to cover violent and property crimes motivated by sexual orientation. He claims that doing so would be some sort of “special” treatment under the law.
Well, as the law stands today, it is special treatment. LaBarbera’s religious beliefs are protected under current hate crime laws.
And even if the law were changed to extend protections based on sexual orientation, LaBarbera would still be protected — perhaps even moreso. Because if he is ever straight-bashed in a violent crime or a property crime — as 28 other heterosexuals were in 2006, then the law would be there to protect him too.
But as long as The Peter continues to agitate against hate crime protections based on sexual orientation — and let’s add gender identity and expression while we’re at it — while complaining about “anti-Christian” persecution, then the only thing he’s interested in is keeping “special protections” all for himself. And with that argument, he’s either showing his ignorance or his hatred. Pick one.
Relief Fund Set Up For Knoxville Churches
Jim Burroway
July 30th, 2008
A relief fund has been set up by the Boston-based Unitarian Universalist Association as more than a hundred Unitarian Universalist congregations hold special services this week in memory of the shooting Sunday at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville.
Funds raised by the UUA will be used to bring “ministry, spiritual care and practical financial assistance to those affected by the tragedy,” according to a UUA statement, and will go to assist Tennessee Valley as well as Westside Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, where several victims attended. Members of both congregations were together last Sunday to view a children’s musical performance. Greg McKendry was an usher at TVUUC, and Linda Kraeger was a member of Westside UUC. Both were killed in Sunday’s shooting.
Contributions to the fund can be made at UUA.org.
See also:
Knoxville Gays On Edge; Local MCC Church Wants To See Letter
Relief Fund Set Up for Knoxville Churches
Thoughts and Prayers for Knoxville Shooting Victims
Knoxville Shooting Witness’s First-Hand Account
Knoxville Shooter Hated “Blacks, Gays, Anyone Different”
AFA Approved Comments: Knoxville Church Doing “Satan’s Work”
Knoxville Shooter Hated “Liberals,” Gays
Just Concluded: Knoxville Press Conference
Knoxville Shooter’s Manifesto Found
Gunman Opens Fire On Gay-Friendly Church, Two Killed
Thoughts and Prayers for Knoxville Shooting Victims
Jim Burroway
July 29th, 2008
The community of Knoxville is pausing to remember and pray for the victims and their families from Sunday’s shooting at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church. Knoxville area residents of all faiths and creeds (like Tom McCosh, from the Lighthouse Christian Fellowship in Madisonville, TN, above) have been leaving flowers and notes at the church’s entrance. The sign at the entrance has become a makeshift memorial to Greg McKendry and Linda Kraeger, the two fatalities from Sunday’s shooting.
The Knox County Commission opened its Monday meeting with a moment of silence, followed by an invocation by Gary Weedman, president of Johnson Bible College, who prayed, “We lift up these brave people who acted so courageously and lovingly.” Commissioner Mark Harmon, a member of the church, talked about the heroes of that Sunday morning.
The community came together on Monday evening for a candlelight vigil in the sanctuary of the Second Presbyterian Church, which stands adjacent to TVUUC. Congregants who survived the Sunday shooting gathered earlier that evening to meet with crisis counsellors, while volunteers from Temple Beth El and Heska Amuna synagogues provided food.
And today, more than 150 people attended an ecumenical service at First Baptist Church of Knoxville at noon today, where two candle were lit on the church in memory of Greg McKendry and Linda Kraeger. St. John’s Lutheran Church will hold a service of hope and healing this evening, while the Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee offered its crisis response team to TVUUC church members to help deal with the shootings.
We join our thoughts and prayers with the community of Knoxville for those who were so deeply affected by this tragedy.
See also:
Knoxville Gays On Edge; Local MCC Church Wants To See Letter
Relief Fund Set Up for Knoxville Churches
Thoughts and Prayers for Knoxville Shooting Victims
Knoxville Shooting Witness’s First-Hand Account
Knoxville Shooter Hated “Blacks, Gays, Anyone Different”
AFA Approved Comments: Knoxville Church Doing “Satan’s Work”
Knoxville Shooter Hated “Liberals,” Gays
Just Concluded: Knoxville Press Conference
Knoxville Shooter’s Manifesto Found
Gunman Opens Fire On Gay-Friendly Church, Two Killed
Knoxville Shooting Witness’s First-Hand Account
Jim Burroway
July 29th, 2008
The Annie character was just finishing “Maybe”. I was thinking, “this is really good.” The Miss Hannigan character walked in stage left and slapped a basket Annie was holding out of her hand. From the sanctuary right entrance, I thought I hear yelling and a loud BOOM of an explosion.
My mind tried to register the sound. I was thinking, “Did a speaker explode? Did I hear a prop gun? Did something go wrong?” and as soon as that thought left my mind I smelled the sulfur from the gunpowder and heard another BOOM and then BOOM. I left go of Jaime’s hand and stepped around the corner just as John Bohstedt tackled the shooter. Immediately two others were on top of him.
Read the rest here.
See also:
Knoxville Gays On Edge; Local MCC Church Wants To See Letter
Relief Fund Set Up for Knoxville Churches
Thoughts and Prayers for Knoxville Shooting Victims
Knoxville Shooting Witness’s First-Hand Account
Knoxville Shooter Hated “Blacks, Gays, Anyone Different”
AFA Approved Comments: Knoxville Church Doing “Satan’s Work”
Knoxville Shooter Hated “Liberals,” Gays
Just Concluded: Knoxville Press Conference
Knoxville Shooter’s Manifesto Found
Gunman Opens Fire On Gay-Friendly Church, Two Killed
Knoxville Shooter Hated “Blacks, Gays, Anyone Different”
Jim Burroway
July 28th, 2008
More details continue to emerge about Jim David Adkisson, the Knoxville shooter responsible for killing two and injuring seven at the gay-affirming Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church yesterday. The Knoxville News Sentinal, which is doing quite a bang-up job in covering this story, has more from people who know him:
“He always had the attitude the government was trying to get him,” [Carold] Smallwood said. “He disliked blacks, gays, anyone who was a different color or just different from him.”
Smallwood also described Adkisson as an accomplished guitarist with “a heart of gold when he’s good.” Adkisson carried the 12-guage shotgun into the church hidden in a guitar case.
It has also been revealed that Adkisson’s ex-wife had taken out a restraining order against him in 2000 after he put a gun to her head and threatened to kill her. She filed for divorce a few days after the incident.
See also:
Knoxville Gays On Edge; Local MCC Church Wants To See Letter
Relief Fund Set Up for Knoxville Churches
Thoughts and Prayers for Knoxville Shooting Victims
Knoxville Shooting Witness’s First-Hand Account
Knoxville Shooter Hated “Blacks, Gays, Anyone Different”
AFA Approved Comments: Knoxville Church Doing “Satan’s Work”
Knoxville Shooter Hated “Liberals,” Gays
Just Concluded: Knoxville Press Conference
Knoxville Shooter’s Manifesto Found
Gunman Opens Fire On Gay-Friendly Church, Two Killed
AFA Approved Comments: Knoxville Church Doing “Satan’s Work”
Jim Burroway
July 28th, 2008
Not anyone can log in and leave a comment on the American Family Association’s OneNewsNow site. Once you submit a comment, it has to be approved by a moderator before it goes public. And what kind of comments earn the AFA’s stamp of approval on their re-post of the AP’s story on the Knoxville church shooting? How about this one:
While this is a tragedy, the article may mislead those who are not familiar with the Unitatian [sic] “non-religion”. Unitarians are not Christians, and like all non-Christians they are doing Satan’s work.” Only a non-Christian would say something like that at a time like this. Thanks for muddying the waters.”
And again, another one, probably by the same author (note the repeated misspelling):
While this is a tragedy, the article may mislead those who are not familiar with the Unitatian [sic] “non-religion”. Unitarians are not Christians, and like all non-Christians they are doing Satan’s work.”
They liked the comment so much they approved it twice.
We’ve lamented the resounding silence on the part of anti-gay religious activists concerning Larry King’s murder. It looks like some quarters have decided not to be so quite this time, now that a gay-friendly church was the target.
Disgusting. Is it any wonder Christians have such a bad name?
Update:As readers point out, it does appear that the first comment reposted above may be a rebuke to the second comment. It takes a very close reading to catch it; OneNewsNow’s formatting makes it all very unclear. OneNewsNow has removed the second comment that we reproduced above, but there’s still another one remaining:
The truth is never hateful or an insult and those who mock the truth are Satan’s stooges. Unitarians are not Christians and anyone who is not of Christ is of Satan. That is truth, not hate or insult.”
Another comment, (the most recent one?) states the obvious:
At a tragic time like this we should be praying for these people, not attacking them. I don’t agree with their beliefs, but to insult them during this time does nothing to further the gospel of Christ. It only serves to give those who hate Christianity a reason to call us hateful.
Well, if it talks like a duck…
See also:
Knoxville Gays On Edge; Local MCC Church Wants To See Letter
Relief Fund Set Up for Knoxville Churches
Thoughts and Prayers for Knoxville Shooting Victims
Knoxville Shooting Witness’s First-Hand Account
Knoxville Shooter Hated “Blacks, Gays, Anyone Different”
AFA Approved Comments: Knoxville Church Doing “Satan’s Work”
Knoxville Shooter Hated “Liberals,” Gays
Just Concluded: Knoxville Press Conference
Knoxville Shooter’s Manifesto Found
Gunman Opens Fire On Gay-Friendly Church, Two Killed
Knoxville Shooter Hated “Liberals,” Gays
Jim Burroway
July 28th, 2008
We have more information on the letter that was found in Jim David Adkisson’s car. According to Police chief Sterling Owen, Adkisson wrote a four-page letter in which he stated his “hatred of the liberal movement. Liberals in general, as well as gays.” It’s that last point that’s receiving particular attention from the Knoxville News Sentinel:
It appears that church had received some publicity regarding its liberal stance,” the chief said. The church has a “gays welcome” sign and regularly runs announcements in the News Sentinel about meetings of the Parents, Friends and Family of Lesbians and Gays meetings at the church.
The church’s Web site states that it has worked for “desegregation, racial harmony, fair wages, women’s rights and gay rights” since the 1950s. Current ministries involve emergency aid for the needy, school tutoring and support for the homeless, as well as a cafe that provides a gathering place for gay and lesbian high-schoolers.
Greg McKendry, 60, and Linda Kraeger, 61, were killed in the attacked. Injured were Joe Barnhart, 76; Jack Barnhart, 69; Betty Barnhart, 71; Linda Chavez, 41; John Worth Jr., 68; Tammy Sommers, 38; and Allison Lee, 42. Jack and Joe Barnhart are brothers, and Jack and Betty Barnhart are married.
See also:
Knoxville Gays On Edge; Local MCC Church Wants To See Letter
Relief Fund Set Up for Knoxville Churches
Thoughts and Prayers for Knoxville Shooting Victims
Knoxville Shooting Witness’s First-Hand Account
Knoxville Shooter Hated “Blacks, Gays, Anyone Different”
AFA Approved Comments: Knoxville Church Doing “Satan’s Work”
Knoxville Shooter Hated “Liberals,” Gays
Just Concluded: Knoxville Press Conference
Knoxville Shooter’s Manifesto Found
Gunman Opens Fire On Gay-Friendly Church, Two Killed
Just Concluded: Knoxville Press Conference
Jim Burroway
July 28th, 2008
Knoxville police chief Sterling Owen has just concluded a press conference, in which he provided a few additional details about yesterday’s mass shooting at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church.
According to Chief Owen, Jim David Adkisson had spent at least a week planning the attack, based on the four-page letter that was recovered from Adkisson’s vehicle. The shotgun was purchased about a month ago. The police spokesman said that Adkisson was frustrated over not being able to find an job, and that he “hated the liberal movement.” Owen targeted TVUUC because of some “recent publicity” the church had received regarding its “liberal stance on things,” but he would not provide any further details. They are investigating the crime as a possible hate crime.
Chief Owen credited the actions of church members who tacked the shooter, saying that they saved many lives. It appeared the shooter wanted to kill as many people as possible and did not expect to leave the church alive. Two congregants were killed in the attack. Five remain hospitalized; four are in critical condition and one serious.
See also:
Knoxville Gays On Edge; Local MCC Church Wants To See Letter
Relief Fund Set Up for Knoxville Churches
Thoughts and Prayers for Knoxville Shooting Victims
Knoxville Shooting Witness’s First-Hand Account
Knoxville Shooter Hated “Blacks, Gays, Anyone Different”
AFA Approved Comments: Knoxville Church Doing “Satan’s Work”
Knoxville Shooter Hated “Liberals,” Gays
Just Concluded: Knoxville Press Conference
Knoxville Shooter’s Manifesto Found
Gunman Opens Fire On Gay-Friendly Church, Two Killed
Knoxville Shooter’s Manifesto Found
Jim Burroway
July 28th, 2008
Knoxville police say that they found a multi-page, handwritten letter in the car of Jim David Adkisson, the mass shooter at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church Sunday morning. Police aren’t releasing the contents of the letter, which they say provides evidence of the shooter’s motives. A police department investigator has briefed Knox County Criminal Court Judge Kenneth Irvine Jr. on the letter.
The investigator also told Irvine that in a subsequent interview, Adkisson said he entered the church Sunday morning with the intent of killing everyone inside. He denied having specifically targeted any children. Witnesses report that he was saying “hateful words” as he fired. Witnesses and police so far are not commenting on a possible motive, but they say that Adkisson had no apparent connection with the church.
Some 200 people were in the sanctuary when the gunman opened fire. A children’s musical play had just begun at the start of Sunday services. Two people were killed and seven wounded. Greg McKendry, 60, was killed when he confronted Adkisson. Also killed was Linda Kraeger, 61, who was visiting to see the musical.
See also:
Knoxville Gays On Edge; Local MCC Church Wants To See Letter
Relief Fund Set Up for Knoxville Churches
Thoughts and Prayers for Knoxville Shooting Victims
Knoxville Shooting Witness’s First-Hand Account
Knoxville Shooter Hated “Blacks, Gays, Anyone Different”
AFA Approved Comments: Knoxville Church Doing “Satan’s Work”
Knoxville Shooter Hated “Liberals,” Gays
Just Concluded: Knoxville Press Conference
Knoxville Shooter’s Manifesto Found
Gunman Opens Fire On Gay-Friendly Church, Two Killed
Gunman Opens Fire On Gay-Friendly Church, Two Killed
Jim Burroway
July 27th, 2008
A lone man armed with a 12-gauge shotgun entered the sanctuary of the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee, just after 10:00 am this morning and opened fire, killing two people and wounding at least seven others before being subdued by members of the congregation.
Police have arrested Jim D. Adkisson, 58, and charged him with first-degree murder. He is being held on a $1 million bond.
The attack occurred just as a youth performance was getting underway. There were about 200 people in the church when Adkisson opened fire. Congregants dove under pews and fled the sanctuary. When Adkisson paused to reload, several congregants overpowered him and held him until police arrived.
One of those killed was identified as Gregory McKendry Jr., 60, a church board member and usher. It appeared that Mr. McKendry may have been one of the first people Adkisson encountered when he entered the sanctuary. He is being remembered as a hero for shielding others from being hit by a shotgun blast. Mr. McKendry and his wife had recently taken in a 16-year-old foster son, who spoke to reporters three hours after the attack.
Another congregant, Linda Kraeger, 61, died at the University of Tennessee Medical Center a few hours later.
Of the seven who were injured, five are in serious or critical condition. Two were treated for minor injuries and released. None of the injured were children.
The church had recently put up a sign welcoming gays into the church. One of the goals of the church’s long range plan is to “increase congregational participation in human rights programs for gay/lesbian/transgendered persons.” The church hosts Knoxville’s Spectrum Café, a safe harbor for area high school youth who “self-identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender; who may be questioning their sexual or gender identity; who feel left out because of who they are, what they believe, or where they come from.” The church also hosts the Knoxville Monday Gay Men’s Group. There is some speculation among congregation members that this may have been a motivation.
See also:
Knoxville Gays On Edge; Local MCC Church Wants To See Letter
Relief Fund Set Up for Knoxville Churches
Thoughts and Prayers for Knoxville Shooting Victims
Knoxville Shooting Witness’s First-Hand Account
Knoxville Shooter Hated “Blacks, Gays, Anyone Different”
AFA Approved Comments: Knoxville Church Doing “Satan’s Work”
Knoxville Shooter Hated “Liberals,” Gays
Just Concluded: Knoxville Press Conference
Knoxville Shooter’s Manifesto Found
Gunman Opens Fire On Gay-Friendly Church, Two Killed
The Scapegoating of Brandon McInerney
This commentary is the opinion of the author and may not necessarily reflect those of other authors at Box Turtle Bulletin
Jim Burroway
July 25th, 2008
Ventura County Superior Court Judge Douglas Daily ruled yesterday that Brandon McInerney, the 14-year-old who shot and killed Lawrence King at school in February and was charged with first-degree murder and a hate crime, can be tried as an adult.
McInerney’s lawyer, William Quest, along with a large coalition of gay groups, had urged the court to try McInerney as a juvenile. That coalition includes the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, Equality California, Gay Straight Alliance Network, Lambda Legal, the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and the Transgender Law Center.
I know this is a controversial, but I see no purpose this ruling serves. There has already been one tragedy — Larry’s life is over — and there will soon be another. What this court and district attorney is doing setting the stage for a 14-year-old with no prior record to spend the next 50 years in prison. If this path reaches its logical conclusion, two lives will be over.
Do we really think that solves anything?
California only recently passed a comprehensive anti-bullying measure to specifically protect LGBT students in the schools. The ink on that law was barely dry when King was shot, and it’s unclear how much, if any, the curriculum had been revised or programs put into place to comply with that law. And I have yet to have heard any specific steps that the schools in Ventura County may have taken to instruct their students about bullying sexual minority children specifically.
Just a few weeks ago, we saw an anti-bullying law killed in North Carolina because it listed sexual orientation as a reason schoolchildren might be targets of bullying. Notice the clause that started the controversy: sexual orientation. It wasn’t race, religion, or abilities that sparked the controversy. It was because sexual orientation was specified that the bill was killed, and opponents to that bill were vocally proud of having killed it for that very reason.
And that specificity is important. You can tell kids that it’s not okay to beat up Black kids, or kids who speak a different language, or kids who are disabled, or who kids who follow a different religion, and they can understand that. And they can certainly hear it loud and clear when measures to protect LGBT kids are shot down because we don’t want to “approve” of some people. We’ve even seen so-called “experts” extolled the value of teasing and tormenting LGBT kids.
So just saying “don’t bully” isn’t enough. As any parent will tell you, teens and pre-teens are preeminent experts at exploiting loopholes. A huge, gaping loophole of being a sissy – that is all the “permission” some kids need. Especially one whose home environment, like Brandon’s, may have taught him that violence is a way to solve problems. Brandon’s own father had been convicted of shooting his mother in the arm just before he was born.
There’s no information to suggest that Brandon and Larry’s teachers or school administrators did anything to calm this particular situation. And there’s certainly no indication that Brandon received any appropriate guidance from his parents. And all we have to do is look in the newspapers to see plenty of other examples where other “responsible” adults, by their silence as well as their rhetoric, give a signal that kids like Brandon can take as a green light.
We asked last February where the voice of the Church was concerning Lawrence King’s death, but we’ve heard nothing but silence. We’ve searched for Lawrence King’s name on Focus On the Family’s web site and CitizenLink. Guess what? There’s nothing but silence. Look at the Family Research Council’s web site. More silence. Same with American Family Association’s OneNewsNow, the Christian Post, Christianity Today, the Christian Newswire and the Baptist Press. Nobody has raised their voice. Instead, we’ve had months of silence.
We know how easy it is for kids to pick up the idea that if something isn’t prohibited, then it is implicitly permitted. How many other kids are being influenced by the roaring silence coming from the so-called “values” bunch in the wake of Larry’s murder?
In the times of the Temple in Jeruslaem, a goat was driven off into the wilderness as part of the ceremonies of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The goat was meant to carry the sins of the people out of the city. And being sent off alone into the desert full of wolves and other wild animals without the protection of the herd, the goat’s fate was sealed. That goat was later translated as the “(e)scape goat,” or scapegoat.
We are about to send 14-year-old Brandon McInerney into the wilderness of the California penal system. McInerney committed a horrific crime, one that cannot go unpunished. But that young teen also cannot be expected to carry the sins of those who, by their silence and their rhetoric, have given the tacit green light over and over. He cannot atone for their sins.
Gay kids aren’t the only victims when the adults around them fail to do the right thing. Larry King’s live was already snuffed out far too early. Destroying another one won’t solve the problem, nor will it absolve the guilt of those who allow the bullying to continue.
Anderson County Teen Charged With False Report
Jim Burroway
July 23rd, 2008
Last week we noted a report from South Carolina about an un-named teen who was alledgedly beaten by his father with a baseball bat because he was gay. That teen, 18-year-old Dwight Clark Ables, accused his father of yelling and swinging a bat at him on July 13 after attending a gay pride festival. Ables also said his father forced him out of the house.
That teen has now been charged with filing a false report:
After conducting a thorough investigation and the lack of any forensic evidence to support the allegation of the assault, Dwight Clark Ables has been charged with 1 count of Filing a False Police report. He turned himself in today at the Anderson County Sheriff’s office,” read a press release from the Department’s Public Information Officer Suzanne Griffin.
Ables is currently being held at the Anderson County Detention Center where he awaits a bond hearing.
Flagstaff Hate Crime Assailant Charged With Felony
Jim Burroway
July 18th, 2008
We reported last month about four Flagstaff, Arizona men who were arrested following an assault on gay pride participants. One man was left unconscious and bleeding following the attack. Today we learn that one of those arrested, Travis A. Reiner, 24, of Flagstaff, has been charged with one felony count of aggravated assault and misdemeanor counts of assault and disorderly conduct.
Police called the assault a hate crime because of anti-gay slurs that were shouted by the suspects. David Rozema, chief deputy Coconino County attorney said in a statement that Arizona no longer has a separate hate crime law. Rozema said that evidence of the crime being committed due to sexual orientation can be presented during sentencing in order to seek a stiffer sentence.
SC Gay Teen Beaten By Father With Baseball Bat
Jim Burroway
July 18th, 2008
An unnamed 18-year-old teen returned to his Anderson County home following a gay pride parade, where he was assaulted by his father with a baseball bat. The teen’s father yelled, cursed, swung a bat, prayed and tried to “cast the demon of homosexuality out of him,” according to the report made to a Sheriff’s deputy. When the teen returned to the house for clothes an hour later, the father punched him again.
The assaults reportedly took place on Sunday, and the teen filed a report with the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday. Both assaults are under investigation.
Four Arrested in Flagstaff Pride Attack
Jim Burroway
June 23rd, 2008
Flagstaff, Arizona police arrested four suspects following an assault on two people leaving a Flagstaff, Arizona Pride event early Sunday morning. The victims were in a crowd waiting for taxis along with staff and volunteers from Equality Arizona, when a group of men shouting anti-gay slurs attacked about 2:45 a.m. The most severely injured man, Michael Brown, was left unconscious and bleeding after being punched by an assailant. He was hospitalized overnight for observation and released on Monday morning.
Sam Holdren, Equality Arizona’s Public Affairs Director, was there with Michael (who is a good friend of his) and helped police identify the four assailants. The suspects are Travis Reiner, 24, of Flagstaff; Christopher Rose, 26, of Englewood, Colorado; Michael Van Roteyn, 24, of Flagstaff; and Mark Greinke, 25, of Sun City, Arizona. They are being charged with assault, aggravated assault and disorderly conduct. They may also be charged with hate crimes.
Flagstaff’s “Pride In the Pines” is one of the few Pride events held in Arizona during the traditional Pride month of June. With Arizona’s unbearably brutal summertime temperatures, Phoenix opts to hold their Pride celebration in April and Tucson has their’s in October. Flagstaff’s higher altitude and much milder climate makes Pride In the Pines a very popular destination for LGBT people from across the state. And since Flagstaff has a reputation for being a very friendly, laid back, live-and-let-live sort of a town, this attack is all the more troubling.
