Gays terrorized in Oklahoma but it's not a hate crime

[Rick Munroe]

"Oklahoma is one of 17 states that have hate-crime laws that do not protect homosexuals from crimes directed at them because of their sexual orientation." This needs to change!

 

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080718_11_A1_hGAYCO522310

[+ purplekow]

>"Oklahoma is one of 17 states that have hate-crime laws

>that do not protect homosexuals from crimes directed at them

>because of their sexual orientation." This needs to

>change! Listening to Obama for too long. Saying change needs to occur is not enough. 50 States taking that stance would be a change. Grass roots organizations are needed in each of those 17 states to push for legislative action making crimes motivated by sexual orientation bias to be declared a hate crime and punished as such.

>

>

>http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080718_11_A1_hGAYCO522310

 

 

I have never seen a purplekow;

I never hope to see one;

I can tell you anyhow;

I'd rather see than be one

 

Help there is a purplekow in my mirror

[Rick Munroe]

>Listening to Obama for too long.

 

I'm not sure what Obama has to do with this; he wasn't mentioned in the story. If anything, I've been listening to Diana Ross for too long.

 

>Saying change

>needs to occur is not enough.

 

Really? I thought that by posting this, I was going to get the laws changed. My bad.

 

>Grass roots organizations are needed in

>each of those 17 states to push for legislative action making

>crimes motivated by sexual orientation bias to be declared a

>hate crime and punished as such.

 

You're absolutely right, so I just traveled to those 17 states and created grassroots organizations to get the laws changed. Thanks for the suggestion. :+

[pegasian]

>>Listening to Obama for too long.

>

>I'm not sure what Obama has to do with this; he wasn't

>mentioned in the story. If anything, I've been listening to

>Diana Ross for too long.

>

>>Saying change

>>needs to occur is not enough.

>

>Really? I thought that by posting this, I was going to get

>the laws changed. My bad.

>

>>Grass roots organizations are needed in

>>each of those 17 states to push for legislative action

>making

>>crimes motivated by sexual orientation bias to be declared

>a

>>hate crime and punished as such.

>

>You're absolutely right, so I just traveled to those 17 states

>and created grassroots organizations to get the laws changed.

>Thanks for the suggestion. :+

 

 

 

 

 

 

AND stop letting the FEDERAL LEVEL POLITICIANS wimp out on adding GAY/LESBIAN categories to FEDERAL DISCRIMINATION LEGISLATION

[Rick Munroe]

>AND stop letting the FEDERAL LEVEL POLITICIANS wimp out on

>adding GAY/LESBIAN categories to FEDERAL DISCRIMINATION

>LEGISLATION

 

From Barack Obama's website:

 

Obama will strengthen federal hate crimes legislation, expand hate crimes protection by passing the Matthew Shepherd Act, and reinvigorate enforcement at the Department of Justice's Criminal Section.

 

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/civilrights/#hate-crimes

 

Obama will also pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

 

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/civilrights/#combat-discrimination

[pegasian]

and CLINTON said he would END G/L DISCRIMINATION in the MILITARY and we GOT "Don't ASK Don't TELL" HELL. UNTIL elected I TRUST NO WORDS OF A POLITICIAN

[Rick Munroe]

Considering the fact that McCain will definitely not do any of the above, I think your chances are better with Obama.

[Guy Fawkes]

 

Maybe I'm just that pathetic that I don't see why this should turn into a politics thead? Electing either candidate isn't going to change the situation for Robert Stotier.

 

Standing up and saying: "It's not right!" eventually will.

 

Coming down on a police department that considers this behavior to be an ordinary case of vandalism will eventually work.

 

Supporting Robert's neighbor's who are keeping an eye out for the so called "Vandals" not because he's Gay but because it improves the neighborhood will eventually work.

 

Starting that grass roots movement to make your local community see the problem will eventually work.

 

Gentlemen we're in an age of change; We get to help those changes happen; but only if we stand up and get counted as saying: "It's not right!" when we see this type of homophobia happen.

 

Getting off the soapbox now,

Daddy

[Rick Munroe]

>Electing either candidate isn't

>going to change the situation for Robert Stotier.

 

Maybe not immediately, but it will have an effect. McCain has taken anti-gay stances, such as backing the California marriage amendment, saying that gays shouldn't be allowed to adopt children, etc., while Obama opposes the California ban and would enact the changes I referenced above. The actions of our leaders definitely have an influence on the culture, and I think having 7 years of an administration that is anti-gay has encouraged the scary situation that Robert Stotler finds himself in.

 

>Gentlemen we're in an age of change; We get to help those

>changes happen; but only if we stand up and get counted as

>saying: "It's not right!" when we see this

>type of homophobia happen.

 

I agree 100%. That's why I posted this story, and I assume it's why you post the news stories on the front page. We can't afford to be silent about this stuff. We can't afford to ignore the injustice.

 

>Getting off the soapbox now,

 

Me, too!

 

Update: After I posted this, I just read this equally gross story of a father beating his son with a baseball bat for being gay:

 

http://www.independentmail.com/news/2008/jul/18/anderson-man-batters-gay-son-home/

 

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/7/19/1919/23359/491/553784

 

As the writer says at the end of the DailyKos post, "As we watch McCain and Republicans speak out against gay marriage, against gay adoption; as we listen to them praise “traditional family values,” let us always remember that what they are doing is encouraging hate and often that hate causes mothers and fathers, family and friends to so despise their own children that they take baseball bats to them. It is time we all said enough is enough!"

[ariadne1880]

Good for Oklahoma. I think "hate crimes" legislation is one of the most awful things ever created by lawyers.

 

Anything in the law that says a crime against someone who is gay, female, or black is worse than against someone who is male, straight, and white is wrong. Just wrong.

 

People should be prosecuted for committing a crime against a person not against just particular persons.

 

The fact that some cannot see this and want to be in a "protected class" is very sad.

 

We'll never all be together and one if we insist on special rights not granted to others. I realize the blind won't get that.

[Rick Munroe]

>Anything in the law that says a crime against someone who is

>gay, female, or black is worse than against someone who is

>male, straight, and white is wrong. Just wrong.

 

Current federal hate crime legislation (from 1969) includes protection for people who have been attacked for their religion or national origin. I could be mistaken but I think there are straight white men who observe religions and come from other countries. So, they're covered, too.

[+ Italiano]

>

>Anything in the law that says a crime against someone who is

>gay, female, or black is worse than against someone who is

>male, straight, and white is wrong. Just wrong.

>

 

 

I find this statement so naive that is almost funny.

 

Ariadne, I guess you should know that a crime made against someone BECAUSE he/she is white, a man, straight, or professing a "most common" religion is definitely something rare but, alas, crimes made against someone BECAUSE he/she is black, a woman, gay, or professing a "different" religion happen everyday in this Country and around the globe.

[Guest ryan2552]

>

>

>Maybe I'm just that pathetic that I don't see why this should

>turn into a politics thead? Electing either candidate isn't

>going to change the situation for Robert Stotier.

>

 

I tend to agree more than disagree. However, in your "list" I feel you left out electing local officials that can make a more direct and immediate change to the law.

[Guest tuesclavo]

>People should be prosecuted for committing a crime against a

>person not against just particular persons.

>

>The fact that some cannot see this and want to be in a

>"protected class" is very sad.

>

>We'll never all be together and one if we insist on special

>rights not granted to others. I realize the blind won't get

>that.

 

There are still thousands of cities and towns across the country where gays are be beaten or worse for who we are, and many of these local jurisdictions don't prosecute or even investigate because they see gays as deserving what happened, not because of anything we did but because of who we are. The hate crimes laws allow prosecution at the state (and federal soon hopefully) and incentivize local jurisdictions to keep the federal or state cops off their turf by cleaning up their own mess. These laws don't elevate us above anyone, they're trying to raise us up from second class citizens.