Family of a slain transgendered woman urges NY for Hate Crime Laws
Monday, July 13th, 2009SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The family of a slain transgendered woman is joining with national gay rights groups urging New York lawmakers to add transgendered people to the state’s nine-year-old hate crime law.
LaTeisha Green’s family made their plea as jury selection began Monday in the hate crime-murder trial of Dwight DeLee.
Onondaga County prosecutors say DeLee killed Green because he thought she was gay.
While the New York law includes 10 categories, it does not specifically protect transgendered people.
If the 20-year-old DeLee is convicted of a hate crime murder, it would be just the second hate crime conviction involving the murder of a transgender person in the U.S.
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- New York
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand could force the Senate to take up the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy this week, The Daily Beast has learned. Jason Bellini on the plot to halt the ban on gays in the military.
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is considering bringing the battle over “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” to the Senate this week, by introducing an amendment that would put an 18-month moratorium on the discharge of gays serving in the military, The Daily Beast has learned.
It would be the first time since the implementation of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in 1993 that senators are forced to declare their position on the gay ban. A Senate staffer familiar with the matter says Gillibrand may introduce her amendment on Tuesday to the Defense reauthorization bill. If the amendment were to pass, gay-rights leaders expect it would stand a strong chance of being approved by the House and could be signed into law by President Obama, who has expressed his desire for the ban to be lifted. Rep. Patrick Murphy is trying to build support for a bill that has already been introduced in the House that would repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”.
But Gillibrand’s move would circumvent a long legislative process at a time when an average of two gay soldiers per day are being discharged.
A press representative from Gillibrand’s office said the decision to introduce the amendment is not final.
“Senator Gillibrand is working with Senator Kennedy’s office to garner support for a repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ and this is part of an ongoing effort to repeal this policy,” said Bethany Lesser, a spokeswoman for the senator.
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