Vigils for Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado and Jason Mattison Jr.

AKAWilliam — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:26:48 +0000

Above, Sean Chapin’s memorial video. Below, locations.

These are TONIGHT:

PHILADELPHIA
When: Friday, November 20th
Time: 6:30 – 7 p.m.
Where: Church of St. Luke & The Epiphany, 330 South 13th St., Philadelphia

SAN DIEGO
When: Friday November, from 6 – 9 p.m.
At the San Diego LGBT Community Center.
3909 Centre Street.
thecentersd.org

GAINESVILLE, FL
Friday, Nov. 20, 7:30pm
Plaza of the Americas, U of F

These are SUNDAY:

OAKLAND
Sunday November 22nd,
at the intersection of MacArthur Blvd., Lakeshore, and Grand Ave.

SAN FRANCISCO
Sunday, Nov. 22, 7pm
Castro and Market St.

LOS ANGELES
Date: Sunday, November 22, 2009
Time: 8:00pm – 9:30pm
Location: Corner of Santa Monica and San Vicente in West Hollywood

BOSTON
Date: Sunday, November 22, 2009
Time: 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Location: In front of Trinity Church, Copley Plaza, Boston

NEW YORK CITY
Date: Sunday, November 22, 2009
Time: 5:00pm – 8:30pm
Location: CHRISTOPHER ST PIERS 45
Street: Christopher Street & West Side Highway
New York, NY

CHICAGO
Chicago, IL – A candlelight vigil is being planned in Humboldt Park this Sunday, Nov. 22, from 4-6 p.m.

DALLAS
Date: November 22
Time: 6:00pm
Location: Corner of Cedar Springs and Throckmorton (heart of the Gayborhood)

WASHINGTON, D.C.
Sunday, Nov. 22, 5pm,
Dupont Circle (contact: laura.lising@gmail.com)

More cities listed here and more information here

I’ll add more information as it becomes available to me.

Also, video of protest outside the San Juan Capitol Building.

Gay Teen Beaten With Metal Pipe As Principals, Bus Driver Do Nothing

AKAWilliam — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:16:27 +0000

Last Thursday, on November 12, while at Houston’s Langham Creek High School, gay and out 16-year-old Jayron Martin was told by a friend that a group of boys was planning to attack him after school. Martin reported the threat to two school administrators, who told him to submit a written statement, which he did. But the administrators did nothing with the statement. And they did not call Martin’s mother. Instead, he was gay bashed:

At the end of the school day, Martin said he rode the bus home. The group threatening Martin was riding the same bus. Martin said he told his bus driver, but nothing happened. The teen said the group ran after him as he got off the bus.

“You don’t understand, I was just running for my life and nobody was like there at all. Nobody was doing anything for me,” said Martin.

Martin said the group chased him, and he ran into one of his neighbors’ home. While there, Martin said, one of the teens beat him for seven minutes with a pipe. He said the attack didn’t stop until the man who lives in that home came downstairs.

. . .“All they kept saying was, ‘We going to get you. We going to fight you,’ and all that and so when they started coming after me they were like, ‘You’re not going to be gay anymore.’ They just kept hitting me,” he said.

Martin suffered a concussion, cuts, and bruises. The teen who beat him is facing aggravated assault charges.

Cy-Fair School District officials said they have launched an investigation. Martin’s mother Lakenya Martin said, “When the child does what they’re supposed to do and the adult doesn’t, what are you supposed to say then? How do you make him feel comfortable? How do you give him back that sense of security?”

Watch the local news interview with Jayron and his mother.

AKA William » Hate Crimes

Vigils for Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado and Jason Mattison Jr.

Gay Teen Beaten With Metal Pipe As Principals, Bus Driver Do Nothing