Like many other trans people, I cheered when Allen Ray Andrade was sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder and a hate crime in the slaying of Angie Zapata.
I was amazed and overwhelmed that a conservative Republican district attorney would fight so hard for a hate crimes charge and that a jury from a relatively small, relatively conservative Colorado town would enforce such a charge.
I cheered again when, a few days later, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Although I have always had mixed feelings about hate crimes legislation, I was caught up in what I felt, and still feel, was justice for Angie Zapata.
But is there another side to hate crimes legislation — a side that causes even some trans people to reject the concept of a hate crimes law?
The reason for my past mixed feelings about hate crimes legislation is twofold. First of all, I understand that a hate crime targets not just one person, but an entire community. A crime against someone because of his or her skin color, ethnic background, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or a host of other reasons can serve to terrorize an entire group of people, knowing that the crime was not a crime of passion, but a crime with a specific target — a member (sometimes any random member) of that community.
On the other hand, I have always had concerns about our system of “justice” — the courts and the penal system — and how both criminal charges and sentences are applied. They are often applied arbitrarily, and marginalized populations suffer the most as a result. In addition, our penal system is one of punishment, not rehabilitation, and therefore, many people receive unduly long sentences for even minor crimes, with no hope of treatment or services. So any law that adds sentencing time or additional charges in a system that already imprisons far too many people can be highly problematic.
This has always been my dilemma when considering the benefits of hate crimes legislation. So far, however, no one with the power to enact such legislation has contacted me for an opinion, so I’m off the hook.
But now, a few days after I celebrated the Andrade verdict and the House decision, another strong and well-articulated position has come to my attention. The Sylvia Rivera Law Project in New York City has announced its opposition to the proposed GENDA (Gender Employment Non-Discrimination Act) bill that was recently introduced in the New York State Assembly — specifically because of its hate crimes provision (thank you, Mark D. Snyder of QueerToday for posting the Project’s open letter).
The letter is long, but well worth a read and consideration. It gave me pause and made me think.
So how do I feel now about hate crimes legislation? I’m still conflicted. But I don’t think that anyone from the New York State Assembly or the U.S. Senate, which is considering the Senate version of the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, will be calling me anytime soon for my perspective, so I’m not worried about making up my mind right now.
I continue to feel that justice was served in the Angie Zapata case, and I would have been supremely disappointed with any other outcome. But I definitely have to do more thinking about the larger picture. And I would love to hear your take on the issue.
(Photo of Sylvia Rivera from the Sylvia Rivera Law Project Web site)
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Personally, 2009 has been just so-so, and I’m looking forward to starting a “new year,” even though the “starting over” thing is purely psychological. But for the community as a whole, 2009 has provided some successes, some setbacks, and some downright sleepers. Here are just a few of each, in my opinion:
Ask Matt Monday: Comments on the Maryland McDonald’s Assault
Posted in Ask Matt, Commentary, Observations, tagged crime, discrimination, hate crimes legislation, Internet, legal, restrooms, transphobia on April 25, 2011 | 18 Comments »
It seems likely that the victim was attacked, at least in part, because she is trans, although she has also told the media that one of the attackers accused her of talking to the attacker’s boyfriend. One of the assailants apparently told police that the attack was “over using a bathroom.”
I’m still not sure, at the time I’m writing this, that we know the whole story. Perhaps more will become apparent, or has in the meantime. But even if the attack was originally motivated by jealousy, it seems to me that the attack continued, and was allowed to continue, on film, with others standing by laughing, because the victim was trans.
I still don’t feel as if I have enough information to comment any further on the attack itself, other than to say that it was horrific and frightening to watch, and that it is not an isolated or uncommon incident. I do have some comments about the aftermath.
1. Although race did not appear to be a primary motivator in this attack, it certainly brought out the racists. Every blog or news site I visited that dealt with the attack was forced to remove comments due to their racist nature (the assailants were black, the victim was white).
Those who made racist comments in response to this attack should remember that the majority of trans people who are brutally assaulted and killed in the United States and around the world are trans women of color. There is no question that racism plays a major role in the attacks of trans women, but not in the way that those making these comments might think. (more…)
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