The Pridelets Files for October 25
On this day in 1999, opening statements begin in the trial of Aaron McKinney for the murder of Matthew Shepard.
Defense lawyers Jason Tangeman and Dion Custis insists that their client acted in both self defense and "gay panic."
After gay "predator" Matt Shepard, seduced them into giving him a ride home from the bar (lying about his intentions and even giving them a fake address), he started putting the moves on the McKinney and Russel Henderson. Says Tangeman, "Matthew Shepard grabbed Aaron McKinney's genitals and licked his ear and at that point his past trauma’s bubbled up inside him and fueled by drugs and alcohol in his own words 'he left his body. ... I don't know what happened. I blacked out. I felt possessed. It was like I left my body. It's like I could see what was going on, but somebody else was doing it, I didn't intend to kill him. I just hit him too hard."
While the defense paints its case with the blood of the "deviant" Shepard -- (McKinney was acting logically as he had been bullied by gays since the age of 5) --
the prosecution reponds that their case will not focus on Shepard's orientation. "It will simply be about the pain, suffering and death of Matthew Shepard at the hands of the defendant, Aaron James McKinney."
BIRTHGAYS (and the occasional straights)
* 1894 - Surrealist, writer and photographer "Claude Cahun" (AKA Lucy Schwob). Cahun profiled the trials of Oscar Wilde for a French publication.
* 1948 - Lexicologist, archivist, poet, and fiction author Paul Trachtenberg
* 1985 - New Hampshire's Citizen's Alliance for Gay and Lesbian Rights
Q.UOTE
"Doy gracias a Dios por ser gay." ("I give thanks to God that I'm gay.") -- Fr. José Mantero
THE BEDSIDE TABLE
"So Hard to Say" by Alex Sanchez
Frederick is the shy new boy, and Xio is the bubbly chica who lends him a pen on the first day of class. They become fast friends -- but when Xio decides she wants to be more than friends, Frederick isn't so sure. He loves hanging out with Xio and her crew, but he doesn't like her that way. Instead he finds himself thinking more and more about Victor, the captain of the soccer team. But does that mean Frederick's gay? He hopes not -- he sees how everyone makes fun of Iggy, a boy all the other kids think is gay. Frederick has to deal with some tough choices: Even though he is curious about Iggy, he's just started fitting in at his new school, and he doesn't want to lose Xio, his best friend.
In So Hard to Say, Alex Sanchez, acclaimed author of the groundbreaking novels Rainbow High and Rainbow Boys, of which School Library Journal said, "It can open eyes and change lives," helps younger readers look at self-discovery, come to terms with being gay, and accept people who are different from them.
This work is copyright© 2006 Thomas Allen Heald, all rights reserved. Contact the author at tom@idontgetit.org and the latest column are always available at www.Pridelets.com.
Defense lawyers Jason Tangeman and Dion Custis insists that their client acted in both self defense and "gay panic."
After gay "predator" Matt Shepard, seduced them into giving him a ride home from the bar (lying about his intentions and even giving them a fake address), he started putting the moves on the McKinney and Russel Henderson. Says Tangeman, "Matthew Shepard grabbed Aaron McKinney's genitals and licked his ear and at that point his past trauma’s bubbled up inside him and fueled by drugs and alcohol in his own words 'he left his body. ... I don't know what happened. I blacked out. I felt possessed. It was like I left my body. It's like I could see what was going on, but somebody else was doing it, I didn't intend to kill him. I just hit him too hard."
While the defense paints its case with the blood of the "deviant" Shepard -- (McKinney was acting logically as he had been bullied by gays since the age of 5) --
the prosecution reponds that their case will not focus on Shepard's orientation. "It will simply be about the pain, suffering and death of Matthew Shepard at the hands of the defendant, Aaron James McKinney."
BIRTHGAYS (and the occasional straights)
* 1894 - Surrealist, writer and photographer "Claude Cahun" (AKA Lucy Schwob). Cahun profiled the trials of Oscar Wilde for a French publication.
* 1948 - Lexicologist, archivist, poet, and fiction author Paul Trachtenberg
* 1985 - New Hampshire's Citizen's Alliance for Gay and Lesbian Rights
Q.UOTE
"Doy gracias a Dios por ser gay." ("I give thanks to God that I'm gay.") -- Fr. José Mantero
THE BEDSIDE TABLE
"So Hard to Say" by Alex Sanchez
Frederick is the shy new boy, and Xio is the bubbly chica who lends him a pen on the first day of class. They become fast friends -- but when Xio decides she wants to be more than friends, Frederick isn't so sure. He loves hanging out with Xio and her crew, but he doesn't like her that way. Instead he finds himself thinking more and more about Victor, the captain of the soccer team. But does that mean Frederick's gay? He hopes not -- he sees how everyone makes fun of Iggy, a boy all the other kids think is gay. Frederick has to deal with some tough choices: Even though he is curious about Iggy, he's just started fitting in at his new school, and he doesn't want to lose Xio, his best friend.
In So Hard to Say, Alex Sanchez, acclaimed author of the groundbreaking novels Rainbow High and Rainbow Boys, of which School Library Journal said, "It can open eyes and change lives," helps younger readers look at self-discovery, come to terms with being gay, and accept people who are different from them.
This work is copyright© 2006 Thomas Allen Heald, all rights reserved. Contact the author at tom@idontgetit.org and the latest column are always available at www.Pridelets.com.
posted by Thomas @ 9:18 PM
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