Crossing the Divide...

The defense in this case makes me sick.
But an attorney for Allen Andrade said the case is about the
woman's deception and Andrade's reaction to that deception, not
whether Angie Zapata <http://www.angiezapata.com/> 's lifestyle was
right or wrong.
"This girl that he had just spent the last day with, was in fact a
man, and Allen snapped," defense attorney Bradley Martin declared in
opening statements.
Oh yes, the "trans-panic" defense (a variation on what's been used to
justify beating GLBT people to death for years) It's the most
intellectually vacuous excuse making I've ever seen - especially when
it's murder.
Accusing the victim of "deception" hardly justifies a murderous
response under any circumstances. If you are so fragile that learning
someone is transgender is a threat to you equivalent to having a gun
pointed at you, then perhaps you shouldn't be trying to date people
yet.
The defense argument is ridiculous and offensive. To accuse a
transsexual of being "deceitful" for living their life is beyond
offensive, it demonstrates a clear lack of understanding of the
transition process itself, and the WPATH standards of care which
clearly obliges the transitioning person to live at least a full year
in their chosen gender before they are candidates for Gender
Reassignment Surgery.
Nieto showed jurors partial transcripts of tape-recorded jail
calls in which Andrade allegedly told his girlfriend that he "snapped"
and that "gay things need to die."
In another transcript, Andrade downplays the slaying. "It's not
like I went up to a school teacher and shot her in the head, or killed
a straight law-abiding citizen," he said in the transcript.
Martin said the jail calls were taken out of context as Andrade
joked with his girlfriend about a crime he knew he didn't commit.
"Taken out of context" - ah yes, the excuse of politicians everywhere.
In this case, the excuse of a murderer trying to justify to himself
his own actions.
Let me be very, very clear here. Murder is murder. You cannot justify
it based on some ridiculous excuse like "I panicked because she was
transsexual". There is no way that someone being transsexual poses
that much of a threat to anybody.
If the judge allows this defense to prevail, it will be open season on
transsexuals across America. Sadly, this kind of defense is being used
because it has been successful before - when it had no right to be.
Posted by MgS at 4/17/2009 05:44:00 AM
Labels: Angie Zapata, GBLT, Law, Murder, Transsexuals
http://crystalgaze2.blogspot.com/2009/04/blame-victim-angie-zapata-edition.html

by Ethan Jacobs
associate editor
Monday Mar 16, 2009

I'm really proud to have been a part of this project; I hope you'll link through and watch it.  The message is crisp and pure.

{click the image to launch link}

-Dana

Enoch Page, an anthropology professor at UMass Amherst, talks in the video about his fears about getting surgery on his knees and facing discrimination by hospital staff.   

One of the most potent weapons in the arsenal of marriage equality activists was the personal stories of same-sex couples and their families, and LGBT advocates are hoping that the power of transgender people’s personal stories will have a similar impact on the effort to pass a transgender rights bill. A trio of organizations working to pass the legislation - Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC), Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) and MassEquality - produced a 10-minute online video called "Everyone Matters" featuring the stories of four trans people working in different fields and talking about the impact that discrimination has on their lives. The video can be viewed online at the MTPC website, and it will be screened publicly at the MTPC lobby day April 7 at the State House. Gunner Scott, executive director of MTPC, said copies of the video will also be distributed to every lawmaker on Beacon Hill.

Broward New Times, FL, USA
THE JUICE
Transsexual a Finalist for City Manager Job in Lake Worth
By Deirdra Funcheon in Palm Beach, Politics
Friday, Mar. 13 2009 @ 4:21PM
Susan Stanton was the city manager of Largo, Florida for 14 years
until she announced she was becoming Steve Slanton. She was
subsequently terminated. Stanton's case made huge headlines two years
ago. Now Stanton is a finalist for the city manager job in Lake Worth.
According to a story in the Palm Beach Post
<http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2009/03/13/0313lwmanager.html>
, "Stanton's gender was not mentioned by city commissioners Thursday
during a discussion of city manager finalists."

The confession of a Colorado man who is accused of
fatally battering a sex partner with a fire extinguisher after
discovering she was a transgender woman, cannot be presented into
evidence, a district court judge has ruled.
Allen Ray Andrade, 31, is charged with second-degree murder in the
death of Angie Zapata, 20. The victim€  ’²s bloodied, battered body was
discovered in her apartment by her sister on July 17, 2008.
Andrade was arrested in the Denver suburb of Thornton, where he lives.
Police responding to a noise complaint found him in Zapata€  ’²s 2003 PT
Cruiser, which had been missing.
Under questioning, Andrade allegedly told investigators that he met
Zapata through MocoSpace, a social network designed primarily for cell
phone users. The two met July 15 and spent the day together. Andrade
allegedly told investigators that Zapata performed oral sex on him but
wouldn€  ’²t let him touch her. When he discovered she was biologically
male, he killed her.
In the taped confession, he allegedly told investigators that he
grabbed Zapata€  ’²s crotch area, felt male genitalia and became angry. He
told investigators that he took a fire extinguisher off a shelf,
struck Zapata twice in the head and thought he €  ’³killed it.€  ’´
But in a 24 page ruling, Judge Marcelo Kopcow said that Andrade€  ’²s
rights had been violated because he had told police he was finished
answering questions, but investigators persisted with questions
leading up to the confession.
€  ’³This court finds the defendant€  ’²s statement, €  ’±I€  ’²m done. Yeah, I€  ’²m not
talking right now€  ’² €  ’¥ is a clear statement of the defendant€  ’²s request
to remain silent and cut off further questioning,€  ’´ Kopcow said in a
written ruling.
Kopcow also told the prosecution it could not describe Andrade as a
high ranking member of a gang that among other things hates gays. The
judge said it was more speculative than substantive.
He did, however, allow the prosecution to present to the jury tapes of
phone calls made by Andrade from jail to his girlfriend.
In one call he said he had €  ’³snapped€  ’´ and that €  ’³gay things need to die.€  ’´
In ruling that the tapes could be played for the jury Kopcow said that
prisoners €  ’³have little, if any, reasonable expectation of privacy
while incarcerated.€  ’´
http://www.365gay.com/news/judge-tosses-confession-of-man-accused-of-killing-transwoman/

Note from the Chair of MTPC:
Commit to do Something!

In order for "An Act Relative to Gender-Based Discrimination and Hate Crimes" to become law in Massachusetts, more people need to commit to doing something - anything - to help get this law passed.  The same people who opposed gay marriage are - surprise! - opposing us. 

The best thing you can do?  Talk about it, with your friends, family, and, most important of all, your legislators. Help us generate ripples of interest and support, by letting those around you know how important this is to you.  If you can't talk about it with everyone, don't worry.  The two people you can speak to are your State Representative and Senator.  They and their office staff will treat you with courtesy and respect - that's their job.  Be sure to let your elected officials know how strongly you support this legislation.  

Another good thing is giving time or money to MTPC.  No campaign for legislation ever has enough of either one.  Donate now, at www.MassTPC.org.

</DIV">

Commit yourself to doing something.  And do it sooner, rather than later.  

Those who want to do more, awesome.  Look around MassTPC.org, you'll find something that needs your help.  Email info@masstpc.org with what you want to do.  

Meanwhile, here's something you can do today: check the list of current co-sponsors (see below), and if your Rep or Senator is not shown, call and ask them to support this bill.  There's a week left for them to do so (deadline Feb 4).  If they agree to sign on as a co-sponsor, be sure to thank them for standing up for fairness, equality, and civil rights.

Later we can share the satisfaction of having helped shape a future more friendly to freedom of gender identity and expression. 

Sincerely,

Nancy Nangeroni

Steering Committee Chair

A financial crisis is forcing Brandeis University to close the school's 48-year-old Rose Art Museum in September and to sell off a prized collection of contemporary American art, the university announced today.
To read more, visit http://www.boston.com

Obama Outlines His Gay Agenda On WhiteHouse.gov

Talk about efficiency. WhiteHouse.gov, the official site of the President, was updated to reflect the changeover from President George Bush to President Barack Obama within a few minutes of Obama's inauguration. Has anyone visited the site yet, and if so, have you seen The Agenda page? I have to say that I am impressed—it lays out Obama's civil rights agenda, which includes broad support for the LGBT community.