Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Justice for Angie

The man who murdered Angie Zapata in cold blood after finding out she was transgendered has been found guilty of first degree murder, committing a bias-motivated crime, aggravated motor vehicle theft and identity theft.

This is the first case in the country where the murder of a transgendered person has been prosecuted as a hate crime, and it took the jury less than two hours to arrive at the verdict. Clearly, they did not buy the "gay panic" defense used by her murderer.

Today, we have justice for Angie.

Unfortunately, transgendered men and women all across the country are not included in laws granting protection from and increased penalties for hate crimes.

Please join me in standing up against hate. Write your local congressman and urge support for the Matthew Shephard Act.

Nobody deserves to be assaulted or murdered for who they are.

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