Queer Notes

by Elise

In the ongoing struggle to have 14-year-old Brandon McInerney, who killed his openly Gay classmate Larry King in Oxnard, Cal., tried as a juvenile, defense attorneys requested the case be refiled in juvenile court because McInerny had no prior record and his life circumstances were never considered. His attorneys are also appealing Superior Court Judge Riley's rejection of their motion to obtain the District Attorney's office documents used to conclude that McInerney should be tried as an adult.

* * *

Several days after hosting the 15th International Conference on AIDS and STIs (sexually transmitted infections) and in direct violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights against arbitrary arrest and detention, Senegal authorities arrested nine men who were HIV- and AIDS-prevention workers. It is feared that these arrests, combined with their eight-year prison sentences for apparently only the suspicion of homosexual sex, will deter others from helping victims of HIV and AIDS.

* * *

Another Memphis Transgendered woman was attacked in December. Leeneshia Edwards, shot in the face and in critical condition, is the fourth hate crimes victim in Memphis in three years. Last December, Duanna Johnson died after being shot. (See Oct.-Nov. 2008 and Dec. 2008-Jan. 2009 N&L.) According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, 23 of 56 anti-Gay hate crimes reported in 2007 in the state occurred in Memphis.

Home l News & Letters Newspaper l Back issues l News and Letters Committees l Raya Dunayevskaya l Contact us l Search l RSS

Subscribe to News & Letters

Published by News and Letters Committees