Hate Crimes: Gay Charleston, Charleston City Paper

Stories of Gay Struggles Come to Charleston

Greg Hambrick — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:06:49 -0400

A Repost from the CP News Blog:

Mitchell Gold, a furniture maker and philanthropist, will be reading from his book, Crisis: 40 Stories Revealing the Personal, Social, and Religious Pain and Trauma of Growing Up Gay In America in Charleston this weekend, followed by a forum to discuss the issue.

Released last September, Gold's book collects the stories of a broad swath of gays and lesbians who discuss the challenges that they've faced, including Nate Berkus, Bishop Gene Robinson, Barney Frank, Alec Mapa (of Ugly Betty), and just a slew of other big gay and gay-friendly names. more…

AFFA Billboard: Gay Rights Are Civil Rights

Greg Hambrick — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 11:32:00 -0400

Local gay rights advocates at the Alliance for Full Acceptance have two new billboards up on I-26 with a message that should spur conversations about how today’s movement for gays relates to the long fight for racial equality.

One of the billboards has two water fountains with one labeled “straight” and one labeled “gay” — a reference to the days of segregation of whites and blacks in every facet of daily life — with the tagline “Gay Rights Are Civil Rights.”

“If there are images that will stop people and make them think about it, then I think we should use it,” says Warren Redman-Gress, executive director of AFFA. more…

...The More They Stay The Same.

D. A. Smith — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:49:27 -0400

You would think, IN THIS DAY AND AGE, that bullshit of this sort was confined to the dustbin of history:

Woman forced from federal building for wearing lesbian t-shirt

(ASSOCIATED PRESS: LOS ANGELES) A woman wearing a T-shirt promoting lesbianism said she was forced the leave a federal building Monday by a security guard who didn't approve of her attire.

Lapriss Gilbert said she was picking up a Social Security card for her son when the guard was offended by her "lesbian.com" shirt and threatened her with arrest. more…

Some More "So Gay"

D. A. Smith — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:38:15 -0400

I heard from Ian Johnson of OutNow again last week and he clued me in on the identity of the "low level" SCPRT who had supposedly resigned. When I hear it from the mouth of the employee in question, Rand Romaine, that he has indeed left his job (and not been reassigned somewhere else, promoted or demoted in the SCPRT), then I'll believe it. more…

Andreson Man Beats Gay Son with Ball Bat

Greg Hambrick — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:56:43 -0400

A 18-year-old heading home from a gay pride festival was battered by his father with a baseball bat.

During the assault, the teen’s 49-year-old father yelled, cursed, swung a bat, prayed and tried to “cast the demon of homosexuality out of him,” according to the teen’s version of events to Deputy S.C. Weymouth, the incident report states.

About 2 p.m. more…

Kennedy Killer Gets Three Years

Greg Hambrick — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:55:00 -0400

Stephen Moller, who killed 20-year-old Sean Kennedy, will serve three years for involuntary manslaughter.

Moller used anti-gay slurs as he attacked Kennedy — pushing the young gay man to the ground, leading to the head trauma that killed him. more…

A Reprieve Of Sorts

D. A. Smith — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 07:51:51 -0400

A threat has passed for now, but only for the next couple of weeks. Please notify your friends in the the Midlands about this upcoming school board meeting. more…

Bad News From The Midlands

D. A. Smith — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 13:55:08 -0400

Today, we hear things could go from bad to worse for LGBT teens in Lexington-Richland School District 5, mother ship of Irmo High School--home of a hotly contested proposed Gay-Straight Alliance student organization.

IRMO, S.C. more…

Obama Releases Pride Month Statement

Greg Hambrick — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 10:36:52 -0400

From barackobama.com:

“I am proud to join with our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered brothers and sisters in celebrating the accomplishments, the lives, and the families of all LGBT people during this Pride season. Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. more…

South Carolia Equality calls for Irmo principal to go

Greg Hambrick — Thu, 22 May 2008 14:25:00 -0400

The South Carolina Equality Coalition has called for the resignation of the Irmo principal who announced he would leave his position at the end of the 08-09 school year because he's being forced to allow a gay/straight alliance at the school.

C. Ray Drew, Executive Director of South Carolina Equality, states “This Principal has emphatically and publicly stated that he does not support a significant portion of his student body. He has created an atmosphere where intolerance is considered a principled stand.”

That is certainly the thing that got me. The school district's response isn't that this club provides a home base of sorts for gay and lesbian students to feel comfortable without fear of intimidation or harassment (or worse). more…

Gay Rights No Factor in Ford-Green Senate Race

Greg Hambrick — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:03:14 -0400

I would say that Sen. Robert Ford's support in the gay community is mixed. I've heard very good things and I've gotten very disturbing scowls when his name has come up among gay friends. more…

Hate Crime Monument Story Notes S.C.'s Kennedy Death

Greg Hambrick — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 16:45:34 -0500

A Florida man is hitting the road with a traveling memorial recognizing victims of hate crimes.

A lesser-known woman supporting the memorial is Elke Kennedy, whose son Sean, 20, (pictured) in May 2007 took a fatal punch to the face in Greenville, S.C.

''I get up each day knowing that this is what I need to do for the rest of my life,'' said Kennedy, 46, of South Carolina, now an activist lobbying for a national hate-crimes law. more…

Overview Of GLBT Law

Greg Hambrick — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 10:48:55 -0500

Lambda Legal, The Charleston School of Law, and AFFA

present

"An Overview of Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Transgender Law"

with Gregory R. Nevins, Senior Staff Attorney

Lambda Legal Southern Regional Office

Friday, February 1st, 2008

1 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

at the Charleston School of Law

385 Meeting Street, BellSouth Room 101

Charleston, South Carolina 29403

Times Rails Against Congress On Failed Hate Crimes Bill

Greg Hambrick — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 14:56:00 -0500

The New York Times has a new editorial critical of Congress and it's avoidance of a fight on a hate crimes bill with President Bush.

President Bush has suggested he would veto the bill. more…

Federal Hate Crimes Bill Dead

Greg Hambrick — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 12:50:42 -0500

This news from 365 gay:

Thursday Senate conferees reluctantly agreed to strip the Shepard Act from the defense bill, realizing that they lack the votes to pass the measure.

In a private meeting Wednesday night, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and House Democratic Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) told Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., that if the Senate continued to insist on the hate crimes provision the defense legislation would fail.

It looks like next year isn't going to be a good one for gay issues either, with the election coming up.

UPDATE: New Stabbings at Greenville (Not-So) Gay Bar

Greg Hambrick — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 15:06:03 -0500

Here's the news. A report from the Greenville Sheriff's Office suggests it may have been an argument over a pool game. more…

Latest Hate Crime Data

Greg Hambrick — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 12:05:07 -0500

The FBI released 2006 hate crime data. There isn't much change from what the data has shown in the past few years.

Crimes motivated by sexual orientation accounted for more than 15 percent of the hate crimes reported nationally. more…

Iran Deadly Serious About No Gay People

Greg Hambrick — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 12:43:48 -0500

Remember when Iran's Ahmadinejad said they didn't have any gays in his country? Well, here's a reminder of why that is.

In a meeting between Iranian and British parliamentarians a high ranking Iranian politician has for the first time acknowledged that the Islamc state upholds the death penalty for homosexuality according to the minutes of the meeting obtained by The Times newspaper. more…

Injustice in the Home of the Cocks

melissa — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 22:44:53 -0500

For better or worse, I am a South Carolina girl. I love G.R.I.T.S. more…

From the Trenches...

melissa — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 16:44:56 -0400

Check out the vitriol we encounter in SC every day. Kind of makes Charleston look like Disney Land. more…

Look at this!

melissa — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 00:32:55 -0400

Here's one of the projects we've been working on at SCEC: [kml_flashembed movie="http://youtube.com/v/JePAfrwrjmo" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

This Just In...

D. A. Smith — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 12:01:02 -0400

Melissa Moore of the SCEC wants you to update your travel plans

Due to an oversight on the part of the City of Greenville, the Venue for Seven Straight Nights in Greenville has changed. Please see the following message for details:

7 Straight Nights for Equal Rights

ALERT: CHANGE OF VENUE!

Where: Piazza Bergamo (new location), Corner of Coffee and Main Street, Downtown Greenville

For Immediate Release

October 8, 2007

Contact: Susan Craine 864-320-0602

Elke Kennedy 864-884-2125

STRAIGHT LEADERS URGE EQUALITY FOR LGBT AMERICANS IN GREENVILLE SOUTH CAROLINA THIS MONDAY, OCTOBER 8TH

Greenville, SC -- Atticus Circle, Soulforce, and Faith In America join forces with local and state organizations in a grassroots effort to raise awareness around the need for equal rights for LGBT Americans. more…

When the genie is out of the bottle, it's hard to put it back in

D. A. Smith — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 17:31:11 -0400

The following is the call to arms I rec'd from the friendly folks of the Alliance For Full Acceptance. Don't forget that once one group of citizens gets excluded from the process, it's that much easier to move on to the next group deemed "unfit" for whatever reason. more…

Colbert: Mujahaqueen in Iran?

Greg Hambrick — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 09:42:40 -0400

Dan Savage was on the Colbert Report last night talking on hate crimes legislation, Larry Craig, and Iran. Funny stuff.

This Just In...

D. A. Smith — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 11:57:05 -0400

forwarded from Human Rights Campaign:

Senate Passage of Hate Crimes Bill Moves Bill Closer Than Ever To Becoming Law

Bill Signifies Major Victory toward Equality for GLBT Community

WASHINGTON- In an historic step toward equality for GLBT Americans, the U.S. Senate voted to pass the Matthew Shepard Act, which updates and expands the federal hate crimes laws to include bias motivated violence based on a victim's sexual orientation, gender identity, gender, and disability, and provides new resources and tools to assist local law enforcement in prosecuting vicious crimes.

"For over a decade our community has worked tirelessly to ensure protections to combat violence motivated by hate and today we are the closest we have ever been to seeing that become a reality," said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. more…