Vigils for a hate crime victim
A gay man in Puerto Rico was the victim of a horrific crime last weekend. On November 14, 19-year-old Jorge Steven López Mercado was found dead by the side of a deserted road near Caguas, where he lived. His body had been partially burned, decapitated and dismembered.
López was "a very well-known person in the gay community of Puerto Rico, and very loved," wrote Christopher Pagan in a statement at CNN's Webs site. López volunteered for organizations advocating HIV prevention and LGBT rights. But the first response of the authorities was bigotry. A police officer investigating the crime said on television: "[P]eople who lead this type of lifestyle need to be aware that this will happen."
is organizing vigils in several cities to remember López and to oppose the bigotry against LGBT people that leads to such barbaric crimes.
EQUALITY ACROSS America (EAA) extends our deepest condolences to the family of Jorge Steven López Mercado, the openly gay Puerto Rican man who was brutally slain last week in what appears to have been a hate crime.
It is in sadness and solidarity that we gather across the nation in memory of Mr. Mercado. These vigils will be publicized as tangible evidence of our support for the Puerto Rican lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) community as well as all other victims of hate crimes and their families.
EAA member Sherry Wolf explains, "So long as the federal government maintains discriminatory laws against LGBTQI people, unimaginable acts of brutality like this one are more likely to occur."
Equality Across America fully denounces inequality of any kind based on class, race, religion, age or community including but not limited to individuals that identify as LGBTQI. It is our mission to secure equal protection in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. We will accept no less and will work until it is achieved.
In conjunction with our commitment to equality, we call on officials to ensure that all applicable hate crime provisions be applied to this case. At present, there is evidence that Mr. Mercado may have been targeted based on his sexual orientation. We are outraged by the televised public statement by a Puerto Rican police investigator who stated "people who lead this type of lifestyle need to be aware that this will happen."
Below is a partial list of solidarity vigils taking place in cities across the United States.
-- New York City: Sunday, November 22, 7 p.m., Christopher Street Piers
Los Angeles: Sunday, November 22, 8 p.m., Santa Monica and San Vicente, West Hollywood
Chicago: Sunday, November 22, 4 p.m., Division and California, Humboldt Park
Gainesville, Fla.: Friday, November 20, 7:30 p.m., Plaza of the Americas, University of Florida
Washington, D.C.: Sunday, November 22, 5 p.m., Dupont Circle
San Francisco: Sunday, November 22, 7 p.m., Castro and Market Streets
Philadelphia: Sunday, November 22, 7 p.m., Love Park, 15th and Arch
Boston: Sunday, November 22, 7 p.m., Copley Plaza
Terre Haute, Ind.: Friday, November 20, 6:30 p.m., DeDe Plaza, Indiana State University
