(Statement issued by Mike Ditto, Director of Online Communications for ProgressNow Colorado):
On Wednesday, a jury in Greeley found Allen Ray Andrade guilty of first-degree murder and bias-motivated crime after he brutally murdered Angie Zapata because she was a transgender woman. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
After the sentencing, Angie's family gathered around her brother, Gonzalo, as he read an emotional statement honoring Angie's memory and calling on Colorado's leaders to enact federal hate crimes legislation.
.jpg)
The conviction of Angie's killer marks the first time any state's hate crimes law has been successfully applied in the case of a transgender murder victim. But just eleven states have laws like ours that protect citizens from bias against transgender people. And only 32 states have laws that protect citizens from hate crimes resulting from bias against gay, lesbian and bisexual people.
Congress is currently considering the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act. It gives the Department of Justice the power to investigate and prosecute bias-motivated violence by providing the DOJ with jurisdiction over crimes of violence where the perpetrator has selected the victim because of the person's actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.
The DOJ would have the ability to aid state and local jurisdictions either by lending assistance or, where local authorities are unwilling or unable to act, by taking the lead in investigations and prosecutions of bias-motivated, violent crimes resulting in death or serious bodily injury. The Act also makes grants available to state and local communities to combat violent crimes committed by juveniles, to train law enforcement officers or to assist in state and local investigations and prosecutions of bias-motivated crimes.
The House of Representatives will vote on this bill as early as next week. Please become a citizen cosponsor of the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Angie Zapata received justice, but the possibility of justice does not exist for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people who are subjected to hate crimes in states that have not extended protection to them.
http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/FBStopTheHate
Please help honor Angie Zapata, Matthew Shepard, and all the other people who can no longer speak for themselves. Urge Congress to act by becoming a citizen cosponsor today.
Comments
Thank you for this story. May Angie rest in peace and her family heal. I donate to the Matthew Shepard foundation via United Way in each paycheck. We have to stop our transgender citizens from living in fear. I hope we'll become an enlightened society someday soon.
@ Cate:
Thank you so much for supporting the GLBT community. Your commitment to tolerance is admirable. I echo your hope for a more inclusive society.
RIP Angie, and I fervently hope Congress does the right thing--finally--and passes HR 1913. It's not about "special" protections for LGBT people or denying religious liberties. It's about giving LGBT people the same protections others enjoy based on their religion, race, ethnicity, disability and other characteristics. It's about equality.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!