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News & ArtsWednesday, November 18, 2009
Homo The Gay Panic Offense
Posted by Dan Savage on Wed, Nov 18, 2009 at 7:45 AM
A man claims he had no choice but to murder, decapitate, dismember, and burn the remains of a gay teenager—the kid made a pass at him, the alleged killer alleges, and deadly force is the only appropriate response to an unwelcome advance. It's why women are always killing straight men. More—and more depressing—details at Towleroad.
1
Let's hope that Obama sends someone down to Puerto Rico to prosecute this hate crime. It's time for action.
2
Can we all agree now that pulling the "gay panic" defense is akin to dropping the "Hitler/Nazi" card in an internet argument, thereby the person who plays it automatically loses the argument?
3
As if what happened to the boy wasn't bad enough, the local police investigator basically came right out and said he thought the kid deserved it. I've seen his exact comments translated as: "Someone like that, who does those kind of things, and goes out in public, knows full well that this might happen to him."
There's an online petition at Americablog to send e-mails to the Attorney General, asking him to make sure the FBI investigates whether this was a hate crime federal law:
http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/6006/p…
There's an online petition at Americablog to send e-mails to the Attorney General, asking him to make sure the FBI investigates whether this was a hate crime federal law:
http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/6006/p…
4
I can't wait to see what the ecce/Mr. Poe collab comes up with for this one. Probably "this is the fault of colonialism".
5
I'm sad to say that it may actually work for him. Puerto Rico is one of the most homophobic places out there.
7
I kind of wish that straight women would kill men who make inappropriate advances. Women don't stand up for themselves often enough, and too many rapists get away with it.
8
@2: Yes.
@3: The police officer's comment makes perfect sense - it's the same reason that women who wear short skirts in public knowing accept the risk of being raped. Which, by the way, was an actual response from an actual officer of the law that I got while canvassing for rape awareness. God bless the USA.
@3: The police officer's comment makes perfect sense - it's the same reason that women who wear short skirts in public knowing accept the risk of being raped. Which, by the way, was an actual response from an actual officer of the law that I got while canvassing for rape awareness. God bless the USA.
9
@7 - Ditto - teach 'em a lesson. Most straight men are probably stand-up guys, but those bad apples are really rotten.
11
@7
If everytime a man physically abused his wife/gf some friend of her's kindly beat the shit out of him I suspect that kind of abuse would dry up. Those creeps may have poor self-control but they are not stupid and a couple of beatdowns can be very theraputic.
And if men who sexually molest their children (or the children of live-in gf etc) took a butcher knife in the throat while they slept the world would be a better place as well.
Of course a criminal justice system that was actually about justice and less a game for lawyers and judges could accomplish the same thing but thanks to the kind hearted Liberals out there that doesn't happen.
If everytime a man physically abused his wife/gf some friend of her's kindly beat the shit out of him I suspect that kind of abuse would dry up. Those creeps may have poor self-control but they are not stupid and a couple of beatdowns can be very theraputic.
And if men who sexually molest their children (or the children of live-in gf etc) took a butcher knife in the throat while they slept the world would be a better place as well.
Of course a criminal justice system that was actually about justice and less a game for lawyers and judges could accomplish the same thing but thanks to the kind hearted Liberals out there that doesn't happen.
13
How can that kind of defense still work in the US (and yes, PR is part of the US, state or not)? This is NOT OK! Men need to know that it is NOT OK to kill another man because he is gay. It didn't work for Matthew Shepard's killers, and I pray that it won't work for this douche bag. It's just as bad as people killing a black man because he kissed (or even made a pass at) a white woman. You can't kill someone else - what don't these men get about that?
15
Unless you're defending yourself against an imminent threat (or someone else), it is not OK to kill another person. A lot of times now, abused women aren't being let "off the hook" for killing their abusive husbands unless they do so when the man is going to attack her. If a woman can't be acquitted for killing the man who has been abusing her for years because she did so in his sleep, a dude can't be acquitted for killing a man because he made a sexual advance toward him.
17
Somehow I doubt the authorities would be as sympathetic to a woman who killed a man who made a pass at her. And, in her case, there would be more to fear. Any two men are likely to have about the same range of body and muscle mass. If a straight man is propositioned by another man, he has less reason to fear sexual assault. Any average woman isn't so equally matched.
There was a case in New York where a man propositioned a lesbian, got angry when she turned him down, and grabbed her throat when he found out she was a dyke. She and her friends beat him down, and one of them stabbed him. Granted, their response was over the top, but they were the only ones prosecuted. He sexually harassed a woman and then assaulted her for her sexuality, and he was never even charged with a hate crime.
There was a case in New York where a man propositioned a lesbian, got angry when she turned him down, and grabbed her throat when he found out she was a dyke. She and her friends beat him down, and one of them stabbed him. Granted, their response was over the top, but they were the only ones prosecuted. He sexually harassed a woman and then assaulted her for her sexuality, and he was never even charged with a hate crime.
18
One time in college I went to a bar with a buddy only to realize (too late) that he was gay and this was a date. Apparently my gay-dar is defective. It was poring down rain, so I just bid my time till he dropped me off, whereupon I told him that he got his wires crossed somehow. Yes it was embarrassing and uncomfortable, but not threatening. And I certainly had no desire to fucking cut off my friend's head. This sick bastard should be locked away in a deep dark dungeon until the day he dies.
19
I met a homophobe last night. Seemed really eager to declare that lesbians are "totally fine, but you know, gay guys are just wrong to [him]".
It wasn't worth me causing a fuss, he was a friend of a friend and I didn't even know his name. More so, I have a fear of conflict, but that's another story.
Still, it was odd to me that he seemed so okay with it. You guys have it rough =\
It wasn't worth me causing a fuss, he was a friend of a friend and I didn't even know his name. More so, I have a fear of conflict, but that's another story.
Still, it was odd to me that he seemed so okay with it. You guys have it rough =\
20
Does anyone get the feeling that he was just looking for a gay prostitute to kill? I mean, a gay prostitute to have sex with then kill afterward to hide the evidence of his own proclivities? I could be wrong, but the extent of damage he did to this young man just screams "serial killer" to me.
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