Puerto Rico will no longer defend the Anti-Gay Marriage Ban

BREAKING: #PuertoRico's government will no longer be defending the marriage ban there
— freedomtomarry (@freedomtomarry) March 20, 2015

#PuertoRican Secretary of Justice announced today that defending the #marriage ban can't be justified any longer
— freedomtomarry (@freedomtomarry) March 20, 2015

The Puerto Rican government are no longer defending the U.S. commonwealth’s gay marriage ban! That's really exciting to hear, right? You betcha!

Washington Blade reports

The announcement coincides with a brief Gov. Alejandro García Padilla’s administration will file with the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, which is hearing a lawsuit against the island’s same-sex marriage ban.

García had previously defended the gay nuptials prohibition.
“The government of Puerto Rico finally recognizes that denying marriage to LGBTT people is discriminatory and cannot be justified,” said Omar González-Pagan of Lambda Legal, which is representing the five same-sex couples in the lawsuit against the U.S. commonwealth’s same-sex marriage ban. “Same-sex partners, LGBTT people and their families are part of the rich Puerto Rican culture and society. The actions taken on this day complete the constitutional promises of justices and equality for LGBTT people in Puerto Rico.”

Moving onward and forward

Federal Judge upholds Puerto Rico's Gay Marriage Ban

Oh man...

U.S. District Judge Perez Gimenez dismissed a challenge to the gay marriage ban in Puerto Rico.

Citing Baker v. Nelson and the First Circuit Court of Appeals decision striking down Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) a judge in Puerto Rico has dismissed a challenge to its same-sex marriage ban.

In that DOMA case, Massachusetts v. HHS, the First Circuit had said that Baker v. Nelson is binding precedent on the issue of whether there’s a right to same-sex marriage; they then found that Baker didn’t prevent them from ruling on DOMA, which didn’t involve the states’ regulation of marriage.

The Puerto Rico case can be appealed to the First Circuit, which hasn’t had an opportunity to review challenges to same-sex marriage bans since all the states in that circuit allow same-sex marriage.

Lambda Legal said they will appeal this foolishness. Until then, stay strong folks, change is coming.

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Puerto Rico Legislature passes sweeping Nondiscrimination bill protecting LGBT people

Yes Ma'am!

Puerto Rico is doing big things!

See the NGLTF press release:

The Puerto Rican House of Representatives today approved a sweeping nondiscrimination bill that protects lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in employment, housing, governmental services, public accommodations and private entities. Last week, the Senate approved the bill in a 15-11 vote and Gov. Alejandro García Padilla has vowed to sign the bill into law. 

The House today also approved a bill to add protections for sexual orientation, marital status and gender identity to the domestic violence law. It now moves to the Senate.
LGBT rights are advancing in Puerto Rico as a consequence of decades of activism and a change in government last November. 

The Task Force has been at the forefront of this struggle for the past seven years. These efforts include speaking out against hate crimes and anti-LGBT violence; standing in solidarity with the Puerto Rican LGBT community; meeting with Congressman Luis Gutierrez to ask for support in this struggle against anti-LGBT violence; and the Task Force's National Religious Leadership Roundtable convening in Puerto Rico to express support.

Interesting Quote: Ricky Martin

Ricky Martin's feelings towards gay rights in Puerto Rico.

"The same rights for each and every citizen of Puerto Rico, that's what we are asking for, and that's what we hope to achieve, the country of justice and peace we want. Puerto Rico has to join all the countries of the world that are at the forefront in human rights and equality,"

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Puerto Rico Lawmakers want to remove LGBT protections from Hate Crimes Law

There's some trouble brewing in Puerto Rico:

Puerto Rican lawmakers are poised to vote on a revised penal code this week that includes a provision that would eliminate LGBT-specific protections 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 religious beliefs from the hate crimes statute that was included in the penal code that lawmakers approved in 2004. The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the amended penal code this week during an extraordinary legislative session that Gov. Luis Fortuño convened.

Representative Héctor Ferrer and Sen. Eduardo Bhatia joined LGBT and Dominican activists at a press conference on Sunday, Dec. 4, to criticize the proposed amendments. 

"To eliminate these groups as protected categories is to invite the commission of hate crimes in Puerto Rico," said Ferrer, as Vocero reported on Dec. 4 "It is a setback in the country’s public policy."
"In an advanced society, this is dangerous for society," added Bhatia, as Primera Hora reported.

I hope people reconsider. LGBT people needs protection. Come on PR, get it together!

Republican Politician Bends Over for Grindr

Sometimes I wonder if it's a requirement for a Republican politician to be God-fearing, corporate loving and closeted. It feels like every other month some Republican is caught with his pants down (no pun intended). This week, our lucky winner is Puerto Rican senator Roberto Arango.

Last week, a Puerto Rican TV show Dando Candela found some very revealing pictures of Arango on the gay hook-up site, Grindr.

The TV show confronted Arango and instead of coming clean about it, he said this:

"You know I've been losing weight. As I shed that weight, I've been taking pictures. I don't remember taking this particular picture but I'm not gonna say I didn't take it. I'd tell you if I remembered taking the picture but I don't."

Okay, but how do you explain the bent over picture and the active Grindr account?

The interesting thing about Arango is in 2004, he was the vice-chair of George Puerto Rico campaign. That was also the campaign where Bush threatened a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.

Oh Roberto...I'm sure we will see more "weight loss" pictures as time progress. Keep up the good work, senator.

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Transgender woman murdered in her Puerto Rico home

Ashley Santiago was found stabbed in her home yesterday. Cops said she was stabbed 14 times and left on her kitchen floor naked.

El Nuevo Día reported Santiago’s mother went to a local police station to report she had not heard from her daughter since Sunday, April 18. Police said Santiago had been stabbed 14 times. And El Nuevo Día further reported the victim’s 2009 Toyota Corolla was not parked in front of her home.

Investigators have yet to determine whether Santiago’s killer (or killers) murdered her because of her gender identity or expression, but Pedro Julio Serrano of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force urged authorities to investigate her death as a possible hate crime.

"The authorities have a legal obligation to investigate this hate angle," he told EDGE in a statement. "We urge the police and the prosecutor to appropriately investigate this murder; to determine whether it was motivated by prejudice and if there is enough evidence to classify it as a hate crime at this moment."

I hope they find her murderer soon. My heart goes out to Ashley's family and friends.

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Justice begins for Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado and Jayron Martin

Great news for the families and friends of Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado and Jayron Martin.

The Puerto Rico Department of Justice has agreed to investigate Jorge's murder as a hate crime. This is big in Puerto Rico.

Jorge was horribly murdered by Juan Martinez Matos, who claimed Gay Panic.

Jayron Martin, the teen who was beaten with a pipe because he was gay, finally has some movement in his case. According to Rod 2.0, one guy has been arrested and possibly charged with an assault and a hate crime.

I hope Jayron and that teen gets some type of counseling for all of this drama.

Tnx to Rod 2.o for finding the info.

Suspect arrest for Jorge Steven López’s murder

Some movement in the Jorge murder case:

Puerto Rican police arrested a suspect earlier today in connection with a gay man’s gruesome murder. Primera Hora reported authorities took a 28-year-old man into custody in connection with Jorge Steven López’s murder.

Pedro Julio Serrano of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force identified the suspect to EDGE as Juan Jose Martinez Torres. López was found decapitated, dismembered and partially burned in a wooded area near Cayey on Nov. 13.

Serrano welcomed the arrest.

"Even when everyone is innocent until proven guilty, it is hopeful that they have arrested a suspect," he told EDGE in a statement. "We’re grateful for the Police work that has acted promptly and we trust that the investigation digs into the hate crime angle and if it is proven that it was indeed bias-related, that the criminal is processed to the full extent of the law."

Hopefully, this will be over soon.

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