Comprehensive Hate Crime Legislation

Sponsored by PLFAG( Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), a piece of legislation requiring all states to have hate crime laws including sexual orientation is being brought before decisionmakers in government. (Source: care2.com).

On May 16, 1007, Sean Kennedy, a 20-year-old gay man, was attacked and died on the streets of Greenville, SC.

"Sean was a brave young man with a bright, infectious smile," said Samer of The Petition Site who is requesting that all citizens sign an online petition to help push the bill through. "As it stands now, 23 states, including South Carolina, do not have hate crime laws that include sexual orientation, but passage of the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Action would change that by strengthening existing laws and allowing the Department of Justice to assist local prosecutions, and where appropriate, investigate and prosecute cases."

Kennedy's death shows that comprehensive hate crimes legislation is urgently needed, according to the site's literature.

You can sign the petition at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/448320879.

In unrelated community news, a New York gay couple filed a discrimination case against an online adoption service that had been sued before.

"Lambda Legal filed a discrimination complaint with the New York State attorney general on behalf of a gay couple who were barred from posting their profile at an online adoption service," stated the gay magazine, The Advocate. "Rosario Gennaro and Alexander Gardner of New York City claim the Arizona-based Adoption Profiles LLC and Adoption Media LLC violates New York State anti-discrimination laws."

It's not the first time a gay couple has lodged a complaint against the service and last time the companies lost though they agreed that because they are based in Arizona and do business on the Internet, they did not have to comply with California law last time.

For more information, go to advocate.com online.

In other community news, the Texas Attorney General's Office has said that Dallas must release complaint files in response to a request from the Dallas Voice Newspaper for records related to a six-year-old non-discrimination ordinance based on sexual orientation.

"The AG's office issued a three-page decision in response to a request seeking access to the records filed by Dallas Voice under the state's Public Information Act," stated the newspaper. "However, in its decision, the AG's office said only a small portion of information in the files can be withheld." (http://www.dallasvoice.com/artman/publish/article_9398.php).

Rob Wiley, a local gay attorney who represented Dallas Voice in the matter, called the decision a victory for the newspaper and a victory for advocates of open government, according to writer John Wright.