Fortuño Indicates Support for LGBT-Inclusive Hate Crimes Law

Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuño indicated to reporters on Friday, Dec. 9, that he supports the island’s current hate crimes law that includes sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.

The governor answered questions about the proposed changes to Puerto Rico’s penal code during a press conference at the Executive Mansion in San Juan.

“We hope he sticks to his word and uses his leadership to ensure those provisions remain in the penal code—and not only maintains those provisions, but orders his administration to enforce them,” said Pedro Julio Serrano of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

Singer Ricky Martin, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, New York Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez and Illinois Congressman Luis Gutierrez are among those who have publicly spoken out against a proposed provision that the Puerto Rico Senate approved last month that would eliminate sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, religion and ethnicity from the island’s hate crimes law. More than 14,000 people have signed a petition that Jorge Sepulveda posted to Change.org earlier this week that urges Puerto Rican lawmakers to reject the measure.

The Puerto Rico House of Representatives is not expected to vote on the revised penal code during the special legislative session, but Fortuño said he hopes lawmakers will approve it sometime in early January.

Human Rights Campaign Again Blasts Proposal to Remove LGBTs from Puerto Rico Hate Crimes Law

The country's largest LGBT rights organization has once again blasted a proposed provision of Puerto Rico's new penal code that would eliminate sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and other categories from the island's hate crimes law.

“It would be unconscionable for Puerto Rico’s leaders to remove sexual orientation and gender identity from existing hate crime protections,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “This sends the dangerous message that it is acceptable to harass or harm LGBT people and would leave victims of hate crimes with no legal recourse. I urge Puerto Rico’s lawmakers not only to reject this homophobic legislation, but to push more aggressively to protect the well-being of LGBT Puerto Ricans.”

Singer Ricky Martin, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, New York Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez and Illinois Congressman Luis Gutierrez are among those who have publicly spoken out against the proposed provision. Jorge Sepulveda posted a petition to Change.org late on Wednesday, Dec. 7, that urges Puerto Rican lawmakers to reject the measure.

"It is ironic that in the same week, we see President Obama and Hillary Clinton going to international groups and telling them to pass more laws to protect minorities, then in Puerto Rico you see the government doing the exact opposite," he told Boy in Bushwick earlier on Thursday, Dec. 8. "It’s shameful to see that."

Puerto Rico lawmakers are poised to debate the proposed provision when they consider the revised penal code during a special legislative session this week. Puerto Rico Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz criticized House Judiciary Committee President Liza Fernández’s criticism of the proposed amended hate crimes law in an interview with Vocero on Wednesday, Dec. 7.

Gutierrez urged Attorney General Eric Holder earlier on Thursday that he create a federal task force to investigate and prosecute hate crimes on the island. The U.S. Department of Justice cited the Puerto Rico Police Department's inadequate response to hate crimes as one of the PRPD's endemic deficiencies in a scathing report it issued in September. The Puerto Rico Department of Justice's own statistics indicate that prosecutors have not convicted anyone under the island's hate crimes law.

"If Puerto Rico doesn't want to protect its residents from attacks, violence and murder, then the federal authorities need to step in and ensure the most basic rights of life and liberty are protected," wrote Gutierrez.

Puerto Rico House to Review Proposal to Remove LGBTs from Hate Crimes Law

Puerto Rico House of Representatives President Jenniffer González announced on Monday, Dec. 5, that she would review a proposed provision to the penal code that would remove sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and ethnic ethnicity from the island’s hate crimes law.

“I have been very consistent about hate crimes,” she said, according to Primera Hora. “I have presented special laws against hate crimes that are there, so I am on the record about this topic.”

González’s announcement coincided with House Judiciary Committee President Liza Fernández’s criticism of the proposed amendment that the Puerto Rico Senate approved late last month.

“For me, it was an error to eliminate these factors from the code,” she said, as el Nuevo Día reported on Tuesday, Dec. 6.

Illinois Congressman Luis Gutierrez, Pedro Julio Serrano of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and other activists and elected officials blasted the proposed provision. New York Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and New York City Councilmembers Melissa Mark-Viverito, Rosie Mendez, Daniel Dromm and Jimmy Van Bramer urged lawmakers to reject the measure in a joint statement they issued late on Tuesday, Dec. 6.

“When we take into account the horrific hate crimes that have occurred in recent years, this decision is even more egregious and nonsensical," said Mark-Viverito, who was born in San Juan. "The Puerto Rican government is creating a dangerous environment for those who have been and potentially could be attacked or even killed solely on the basis of their identity without any additional penalties for the perpetrators. This strategy to de-classify hate violence directed against LGBT Puerto Ricans and ethnic groups as a separate crime cannot stand."

Nearly two dozen LGBT Puerto Ricans have been murdered on the island since gay teenager Jorge Steven López Mercado’s decapitated, dismembered and partially burned body was found along a remote roadside near Cayey in 2009. With more than 1,000 reported homicides so far this year, 2011 has already proven to be the deadliest year in Puerto Rico.

The U.S. Department of Justice noted the Puerto Rico Police Department’s inadequate response to hate crimes as among the PRPD’s endemic deficiencies in a damning report it released in September. A federal DOJ spokesperson on Monday declined to comment on the proposed hate crimes provision, but the Puerto Rico Department of Justice’s own statistics confirm that prosecutors have not convicted anyone under the island’s hate crimes law.

Singer Ricky Martin added his voice to the growing chorus of those who oppose the proposed provision.

“All citizens are equal under the law and have, without exception, the right to equal protection under the law,” he wrote on his website, citing the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The House is expected to vote on the revised penal code later this week during a special legislative session.

Puerto Rico Lawmakers Move to Remove LGBTs from Hate Crimes Law

Puerto Rican lawmakers are poised to vote on a revised penal code this week that could eliminate LGBT-specific categories from the island’s hate crimes law.

The Puerto Rico Senate late last month approved a provision that would eliminate sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, ethnicity and religion from the current statute—political status, age and disability would remain. The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the amended penal code during a special legislative session.

Representative Héctor Ferrer, Sen. Eduardo Bhatia and LGBT and Dominican activists blasted the proposed provisions earlier on Sunday, Dec. 4.

“It’s an outrage and now we’re calling upon the House to restore this to where it should be,” said Pedro Julio Serrano of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

Nearly two dozen LGBT Puerto Ricans have been murdered on the island since gay teenager Jorge Steven López Mercado was stabbed to death before his decapitated, dismembered and partially burned body was found along a remote roadside near Cayey in Nov. 2009. The Justice Department noted a lack of prosecution under the island's hate crimes law in damning report on the Puerto Rico Police Department it issued in September.

FBI: Nearly 20 Percent of Reported Hate Crimes in 2010 Motivated By Sexual Orientation

The Federal Bureau of Investigation on Monday, Nov. 14, noted that nearly a fifth of all reported hate crime incidents in 2010 were motivated by sexual orientation.

Of the 6,624 hate crime incidents that the FBI documented in 2010, 19.3 percent of them were motivated by sexual orientation bias. Of the 7,690 single-bias offenses documented in the aforementioned incidents, 19.1 percent of them were motivated by sexual orientation.

The FBI’s report further documents that of the 1,470 hate crime offenses motivated by sexual orientation—57.9 percent were classified as “anti-male homosexual bias” and 27.4 percent were reported as “anti-homosexual bias.” Another 11.4 percent were prompted by “an anti-female homosexual bias,” and 1.9 percent were classified as “anti-bisexual bias.” 1.4 percent were prompted by “anti-heterosexual bias.”

The FBI reported 6,598 hate crime incidents in 2009—18.5 percent of those were motivated by sexual orientation. Of the 7,775 single-bias offenses documented in the aforementioned incidents, 18.5 percent of them were motivated by sexual-orientation.

The 2009 report further notes that 55.6 percent of the reported 1,436 offenses motivated by sexual orientation were prompted by “anti-male homosexual bias,” while another 26.2 percent resulted from “anti-homosexual bias.” “Anti-female homosexual bias” prompted 15 percent of these incidents, while another 1.5 percent resulted from “anti-heterosexual bias” and “anti-bisexual bias” motivated 1.7 percent of these crimes.

While the FBI’s report shows only a slight increase in the number anti-gay hate crimes in 2010; hate violence motivated by sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and HIV status remains a serious problem. A National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs report documented 27 anti-LGBT murders in 2010—the second highest annual total that the coalition has recorded since 1996. Seventy percent of these victims were people of color and 44 percent of them were transgender women.

The NCAVP report further noted that trans people and people of color are twice as likely to experience violence or discrimination as non-trans white people. Trans people of color are nearly 2.5 times as likely to suffer discrimination as their white counterparts.

Has Anything Changed in Puerto Rico Since Jorge Steven's Murder?

Today marks the second anniversary of Puerto Rican gay teenager Jorge Steven López Mercado’s brutal murder.

Juan José Martínez Matos stabbed Jorge Steven López Mercado to death on Nov. 13, 2009, before he decapitated, dismembered and partially burned his body. López’s remains were found dumped along a remote roadside near Cayey the next day.

López’s gruesome murder sent shockwaves across Puerto Rico and beyond—singers Ricky Martin, Olga Tañon and René Péréz of Calle 13 and former Miss Universe Denise Quiñones were among those who publicly spoke out against anti-LGBT violence on the island. Human Rights Foundation President Ada Conde Vidal, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, New York City Councilmembers Melissa Mark-Viverito and Rosie Mendez and Illinois state Sen. Iris Martínez are among those who repeatedly blasted Gov. Luís Fortuño for his failure to follow suit.

Has anything changed in Puerto Rico since López’s death?

Martínez received a 99-year prison sentence in May 2010 after he pleaded guilty to López’s murder, but nearly two dozen LGBT Puerto Ricans have been killed since the gay teenager’s gruesome death. The Justice Department noted the Puerto Rico Police Department's inadequate response to hate crimes as among the agencies' numerous failures in a damning report it released in September. Fortuño and other officials have yet to publicly speak out against these incidents.

The situation for LGBT Puerto Ricans remains dire two years after López’s death stunned the world. On this grim anniversary, however, it is appropriate to remember a grieving mother’s words that sought to comfort a community during one of its darkest hours: Love conquers hate.

NYPD Identifies Suspect in Anti-Gay Attack in Brooklyn

Police say a 21-year-old man used anti-gay slurs against a man as he sexually assaulted him on a Brooklyn street earlier this month.

Julius "Stinky" Wright allegedly approached the 24-year-old man on Myrtle Avenue around 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 5. WABC reported the New York Police Department said that Wright stole the victim's cell phone before he asked him about his sexual orientation as he pretended to hold a gun. Wright allegedly proceeded to sexually assault the victim while shouting anti-gay slurs at him.

WABC reported that the man was treated at Woodhull Medical Center and released.

"We must put an end to the intolerance that breeds this hatred, said New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and City Councilman Albert Vann in a joint statement they released after news of the attack broke late on Friday, Sept. 23. "New York City prides itself on diversity and acceptance of all its residents and this act goes against the very fiber of what our city stands for."

Quinn, Vann and City Councilwoman Letitia James plan to distribute flyers about the incident to passersby on the corner of Myrtle and Throop Avenues at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 27.

NYC Officials Condemn Reported Anti-Gay Attack in Brooklyn

New York City officials late on Friday, Sept. 23, condemned a reported hate crime against a gay man who was walking home in Brooklyn earlier this month.

The man was walking in Bedford-Stuyvesant at 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 5 when he was attacked. The man's assailant or assailants reportedly used anti-gay slurs during the attack.

“We are disgusted and horrified to hear about this incident. Hate crimes hurt everyone, and any act of violence against one member of the LGBT community is an act of violence against us all," said New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and City Councilman Albert Vann in a joint statement. "Too often we hear about acts of violence committed against LGBT people in our city. We must put an end to the intolerance that breeds this hatred. New York City prides itself on diversity and acceptance of all its residents and this act goes against the very fiber of what our city stands for."

The New York Police Department's Hate Crimes Task Force continues to investigate the incident.

Queens man succumbs to injuries after alleged anti-gay attack

Not again!

An 18-year-old Queens man died at Jamaica Hospital yesterday after four teenagers beat him in what police said was an anti-gay attack.

The Daily News reported four teenagers—Alex Velez, Nolis Ogando, Christopher Lozada and Luis Tabales—attacked Anthony Collao with a metal pipe outside a Woodhaven birthday party on Satuday, March 12. A judge arraigned them on Monday, March 14, on manslaughter and assault charges. And the teenagers remain held on $100,000 to $200,000 bail.

“I want to express my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Anthony Collao,” said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn in a statement. “My Council colleagues and I are saddened and disturbed by this outrageous attack. We celebrate diversity in New York City, we do not tolerate bias attacks in any neighborhood in Queens or anywhere else in our great city.”

A number of anti-LGBT hate crimes have unfortunately garnered headlines over the last couple of years. These include José Sucuzhañay’s murder on a Bushwick street corner in Dec. 2008, the near-fatal beating of Jack Price outside a College Point bodega in Oct. 2009, gay Puerto Rican teenager Jorge Steven López Mercado's brutal death in Nov. 2009. Gang members also allegedly sodomized and beat two teenagers and a man in the Bronx in October because they reportedly thought one of their recruits was gay.

Collao's death once again proves New York City is not immune to anti-LGBT hate crimes.

Boy in Bushwick appears on Same Sex Sunday

Boy in Bushwick was among the guests who appeared on "Same Sex Sunday" on Sunday, Dec. 19, to discuss the LGBT-specific issues that garnered headlines in 2010.

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RIP Jorge Steven

Today marks the first anniversary of the brutal murder of gay Puerto Rican teenager Jorge Steven López Mercado.

Juan José Martínez Matos stabbed López to death on Nov. 13, 2009, before he dumped the teenager’s decapitated, dismembered and partially burned body along a remote roadside near Cayey.

López’s mother, Myriam Mercado, told me in June “with a crime so atrocious, it is important people unite in their pain.” Her strength—and especially the unconditional love she continues to show for her son—remain an inspiration to everyone who has met her over the last year. It must be said, however, 12 LGBT Puerto Ricans have been murdered since López’s brutal death.

Recent events in New York City and around the country prove anti-LGBT hate crimes remain a serious problem. And on this grim anniversary, it remains imperative that everyone step up and say enough is enough.

A sense of justice comes to Brooklyn

As activists, politicians and other officials continue to respond to the series of hate crimes that have shaken Staten Island in recent months, it would be completely remiss not to acknowledge the Sucuzhañay family received some sense of justice last week in a Brooklyn court room.

Judge Patricia Del Mango on Thursday, Aug. 5, sentenced Keith Phoenix to 37 years to life in prison for José Sucuzhañay’s murder on a Bushwick street corner in Dec. 2008. Hakim Scott received a 40 year sentence for manslaughter, but a separate jury in May declined to convict him on a second degree murder as a hate crime charge.

I first learned the details of this horrific crime at a City Hall press conference roughly 48 hours after the two men attacked José Sucuzhañay at the intersection of Bushwick Avenue and Kossuth Place. Reporters are supposed to check their emotions at the door before they cover a story, but this task became virtually impossible as City Council Speaker Christine Quinn detailed what happened roughly 10 blocks from my apartment on that cold December morning.

Nothing will obviously bring José Sucuzhañay back, but a judge gave some resemblance of justice to his family, friends and community who continue to mourn his tragic death.

Sucuzhañay hate crime retrial continues

This blog has certainly taken on a more Fire Island-centric feel in recent weeks, but it is important to point out the retrial of the second man prosecutors contend shouted anti-Latino and anti-gay slurs at Ecuadorian immigrant José Sucuzhañay before they beat him to death continues in a downtown Brooklyn courtroom.

Duncan Osborne reports on his blog Kuson Nelson testified he heard the driver of a red SUV yell anti-gay slurs at the victim and his brother Romel before he and another man attacked him.

“The driver in the front was talking to the two Hispanic males,” testified Nelson as he proceeded to describe to the jury what he said he heard. “Look at those two little faggot motherfuckers right there.”

Prosecutors contend Hakim Scott and Keith Phoenix beat Sucuzhañay and to death on the corner of Bushwick Avenue and Kossuth Place on Dec. 7, 2008. A jury convicted Scott last month of manslaughter and attempted assault charges, but not as a hate crime. A separate panel could not reach a verdict in Phoenix’s trial.

The case is expected to go to the jury sometime next week.

More than winning a verdict

As I look forward to another weekend on Fire Island, I would be completely remiss to not acknowledge a Puerto Rican family continues to grieve the loss of their beloved son.

Juan José Martínez Matos confessed on Wednesday he stabbed Jorge Steven López Mercado to death before he decapitated, dismembered and partially burned the gay teenager's body on Nov. 13, 2009. Judge Miriam Camila Jusino immediately sentenced him to 99 years in prison, but López's mother, Myriam Mercado, told reporters outside the Caguas courtroom Martínez's confession was bittersweet for her and her family.

"We are able to find a bit of peace in this aspect, but it's not going to return Steven to us," said an emotional Mercado as her husband, Jorge López, activist Pedro Julio Serrano and prosecutor Yaritza Carrasquillo stood by her side. "But at least there is justice in Puerto Rico."

Back here in Brooklyn, José Sucuzhañay's family continues to seek justice after one jury acquitted Hakim Scott of hate crimes charges and a judge declared a mistrial after a second panel could not render a verdict against Keith Phoenix. Prosecutors are scheduled to retry Phoenix on June 15, but both the Sucuzhañay and López cases clearly demonstrate the tragic and entirely unnecessary toll hate crimes can have on families and the communities in which they live and of which they are a part.

"This case dominates a lot of people in these communities and highlights the need to do so much more than to win a verdict," Ana María Archila, co-executive director of Make the Road New York, told me earlier this week.

Indeed.

Gay Puerto Rican teenager's alleged killer returns to court on Wednesday

As the man who allegedly murdered Jorge Steven López Mercado prepares to return to court on Wednesday, April 14, one question I hope to investigate is whether the public outcry over the gay teenager's brutal death has translated into any tangible changes on the ground in Puerto Rico.

Thousands of people paid tribute to López in vigils held across the United States in the days after authorities found his decapitated, dismembered and partially burned body along a remote roadside near Cayey on Nov. 13, 2009. More than 1,000 Puerto Ricans marched through San Juan to demand an end to hate crimes. And New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and other elected officials have repeatedly blasted Gov. Luis Fortuño's failure to publicly respond to López's murder.

López's alleged killer's trial is scheduled to start next month. And while the gay teenager's brutal murder sparked widespread outrage among LGBT activists, it remains to be seen whether anything tangible has changed since Nov. 13, 2009.

Bushwick marks first anniversary of José Sucuzhañay’s death

Dozens of Bushwick residents and relatives of hate crimes victims were among those at Make the Road New York earlier today who marked the first anniversary of José Sucuzhañay’s death.

“I’m here today with much sadness,” Diego Sucuzhañay said in Spanish. “This is the season we lost our beloved brother. He was the leader of our family.”

Sucuzhañay further spoke about the impact his brother’s murder has had on his young niece and nephew.

“This year, José’s kids will not receive the Merry Christmas their dad always gave them,” he said.

Hakim Scott and Keith Phoenix allegedly used anti-gay and anti-Latino slurs as they beat José Sucuzhañay with a baseball bat and broken bottles on Dec. 7, 2008, as he and his brother Romel walked arm and arm near the corner of Bushwick Avenue and Kossuth Place. The Ecuadorian immigrant died in a Queens hospital two days later. And hundreds of people marched down Myrtle Avenue less than a week after José Sucuzhañay’s death to demand justice.

“Hate in my community is entirely unacceptable,” City Councilmember Diana Reyna [D-Bushwick] said.

Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez agreed as she spoke of the need for the White House to pass what she described as comprehensive immigration reform.

“This is our moral obligation,” she said. “I cannot look in the eye the mother José or [Marcelo] Lucero, who was killed on Long Island [in Nov. 2008]… and say I’m sorry this is not the right time. It is the right time.”

This vigil came less than a week after news two bouncers at a Jackson Heights bar attacked a prominent gay activist broke. And it also comes roughly a month after Puerto Rican authorities found Jorge Steven López Mercado’s decapitated, dismembered and partially burned body along a remote roadside near Cayey.

Mario Vega suffered serious brain injuries after three men attacked him near his Bushwick apartment in late September. And police maintain Daniel Aleman and Daniel Rodriguez, Jr., nearly beat openly gay Jack Price to death outside a College Point deli on Oct. 9.

Diego Sucuzhañay told Boy in Bushwick after the vigil he feels immigrant and LGBT advocacy organizations have a responsibility to work together to end hate crimes

“We maybe have different priorities, but we are two groups being targeted by hate right now,” he said. “We are suffering the same. We are fighting for human rights. We need stop being treated as second class citizens.”



Diego Sucuzhañay speaks about his brother José's murder.



Members of the New York City Anti-Violence Project lead a candlelight vigil.



Diego Sucuzhañay.



Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez



From left: Joselo Lucero and Diego Sucuzhañay.



No more hate violence!



Outside Make the Road New York's Bushwick office.

Jackson Heights bar bouncers allegedly beat prominent gay activist

Roughly two months after two men allegedly beat a College Point man into a coma, bouncers at a Jackson Heights bar reportedly assaulted a prominent local activist because he was dancing with his partner.

Tarlach MacNiallais of the Irish Lesbian and Gay Organization has alleged two security guards at Guadalajara de Noche on Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights assaulted him early Saturday, Dec. 5. Blogs and local media reported the two men wrestled MacNiallais to the ground and dragged him off the dance floor before they punched and kicked him. The security guards also allegedly smashed a chair over MacNiallais' head.

This attack is the latest in a series of anti-LGBT assaults that have rocked Queens in recent months.

Police contend Daniel Rodriguez, 21, and Daniel Aleman, 26, nearly beat Jack Price, 49, to death outside a College Point deli on Oct. 8 because of his sexual orientation.



Video courtesy of the Associated Press

A Queens County grand jury indicted Trinidad Tapia, 19, and Gilberto Ortiz, 32, on hate crimes charges late last month after they allegedly beat Leslie Mora, who is transgender, with a belt buckle as she walked along Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights on June 19. And the New York Police Department maintains Nathaniel Mims, 25, and Rasheed Thomas, 22, shouted anti-gay slurs at Carmella Etienne, who is also trans, before they attacked her with rocks and empty beer bottles as she walked home from a store near her St. Albans apartment on July 8.

Activist Brendan Fay and openly City Councilmember-elect Danny Dromm [D-Jackson Heights] both expressed to Boy in Bushwick their outrage over the alleged incident at Guadalajara de Noche. MacNiallais did not immediately return request for comment, but the NYPD continues to investigate his allegations.

José Sucuzhañay memorial service to take place in Bushwick on Dec. 12

A sad anniversary

Today marks a year since Hakeem Scott and Keith Phoenix allegedly attacked Ecuadorian immigrant José Sucuzhañay near the corner of Bushwick Avenue and Kossuth Place.

The two men reportedly used anti-gay and anti-Latino slurs as they beat Sucuzhañay early Dec. 7, 2008, with a baseball bat and broken bottles as he and his brother Romel walked home arm-and-arm from a local party. Sucuzhañay, whose two young children live in his homeland, succumb to his injuries two days later at a Queens hospital.

Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, Congressman Anthony Weiner, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and City Comptroller Bill Thompson were among the hundreds of people who marched through Bushwick shortly after Sucuzhañay’s death. And the New York Police Department arrested Scott and Phoenix earlier this year.

The two men will go on trial sometime next year, but the unfortunate fact remains hate crimes based on actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity have become an all too common aspect of my reportage. These include LaTeisha Green of Syracuse, Jack Price of College Point, Leslie Mora and Carmella Etienne of Jackson Heights and Jorge Steven López Mercado of Puerto Rico.

Juan A. Martínez Matos, who reportedly confessed to Puerto Rican prosecutors he killed López and subsequently decapitated, dismembered and partially burned the gay teenager’s body last month, returns to court on Wednesday for his preliminary hearing.

President Barack Obama signed a bill into law in late October that added both sexual orientation and gender identity and expression to federal hate crimes laws, but these statutes alone will arguably not curb the increasing rates of anti-LGBT violence that continue to plague this country. And on this sad anniversary, Myriam Mercado’s own words perhaps provide this Bushwick resident with the most comfort: El amor vence el odio. Love conquers hate.

Obama signs hate crimes bill

President Barack Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law at the White House earlier today.

This is the culmination of a struggle that has lasted more than a decade," Obama said. "Time and again, we faced opposition. Time and again, the measure was defeated or delayed. Time and again we've been reminded of the difficulty of building a nation in which we're all free to live and love as we see fit. But the cause endured and the struggle continued, waged by the family of Matthew Shepard, by the family of James Byrd, by folks who held vigils and led marches, by those who rallied and organized and refused to give up, by the late Senator Ted Kennedy who fought so hard for this legislation... and all who toiled for years to reach this day."

The president continued.

"At root, this isn't just about our laws; this is about who we are as a people. This is about whether we value one another... whether we embrace our differences, rather than allowing them to become a source of animus," Obama said. "The moment we fail to see in another our common humanity -- the very moment when we fail to recognize in a person the same fears and hopes, the same passions and imperfections, the same dreams that we all share."

Indeed.