Violence Against The LGBT Community
In recent years, numerous LGBT people have been murdered with some laying the blame for these acts on politicians and on the religious community.
The dismembered body of 19 year old college student Jorge Steven López Mercado was discovered 14 November 2009 in Cayey, a city located in the island's interior region. López was widely known as a volunteer for organizations advocating gay rights and HIV prevention, and activists are planning remembrance vigils for him in cities including San Juan, Chicago, and New York. According to local police, it is under investigation as a possible hate crime, under the newly approved U.S. Federal hate crimes law which includes crimes against people who are (or perceived to be) gay or transgendered people. Juan A. Martinez Matos was arrested a few days after López Mercado's body was discovered. On 12 May 2010, Martinez Matos pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 99 years in prison for the murder of López Mercado.
On 19 April 2010, the body of Ashley Santiago, a transgendered woman who resided in the town of Corozal was discovered in the kitchen of her home. Santiago, a stylist at a local salon, was found naked on the floor and was stabbed 14 times by an unknown assailant.
On 13 September 2010, the bodies of Justo Luis "Michelle" Gonzalez and Miguel Orlando "La Flaca" Soto, two transsexuals were found murdered along a road in the small town of Juana Diaz. With these two deaths, LGBT activists on the island have stated that nine gay and transsexual people have been killed over the last 10 months on the island, and local authorities have not adequately responded to these crimes. In October 2012, Malena Suarez, a transgender woman living in Carolina, was found dead at her home as a result of multiple stabbings. Her death marked the 30th anti-LGBT homicide in Puerto Rico in a decade.
Read more about this topic: LGBT In Puerto Rico
Famous quotes containing the words violence and/or community:
“Kids and violent TV, violent TV and violence, violence and kids. The only people missing from this discussion are the parents. Where are we? Gone. Abdicated.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1953)
“I don’t think Dr. King helped racial harmony, I think he helped racial justice. What I profess to do is help the oppressed and if I cause a load of discomfort in the white community and the black community, that in my opinion means I’m being effective, because I’m not trying to make them comfortable. The job of an activist is to make people tense and cause social change.”
—Al, Reverend Sharpton (b. 1954)