Quote Of The Day - John Scarpa

"A sentence of 25 years to life is an incredibly long period of time, judge. Shouldn’t that be reserved for people who are guilty of killing certain classes of individuals? Who is the victim in this case? Is the victim a person in the higher end of the community? Amanda was engaged in a life of prostitution, life of drug use, HIV exposure. She was having sex with other individuals knowing she had the chance of spreading diseases." - Queens attorney John Scarpa, defending his client Rasheen Everett for the murder of transgender prostitute Amanda Gonzalez-Andujar.  The judge slammed Scarpa's comments then sentenced Everett to 29 years in prison.

The Anti-Violence Project has issued a statement:

AVP is calling for a public apology by Scarpa for this outrageous statement that says that transgender women and sex workers should be legally devalued by society. This type of speech is tantamount to hate speech and says that LGBT people, and particularly transgender women, are “other” and not worthy of protection. This hate speech is irresponsible and we are also calling on the Queens District Attorney’s office to issue a public condemnation of Scarpa’s dangerous and offensive remarks.

New Yorkers Rally Against Hate Crimes Outside Madison Square Garden

Hundreds of LGBT New Yorkers gathered outside Madison Square Garden last night in protest of the ongoing spree of violent anti-gay hate crimes, one of which occurred outside the famed sports venue. The protest was organized by Queer Rising and the LGBT Anti-Violence Project. Visit the Facebook page of Gay Marriage USA for many more photos and some of the great signs from the protest. In the top photo above is ACT UP and Occupy activist Brandon Cuicchi, whom I met last year when he was my Bear Week housemate in Provincetown. With the microphone in the second photo is Queer Rising organizer Eugene Lovendusky. In the bottom photo is Miss Stonewall 2013, Frostie Flakes.  (Via JMG reader Murray)

New York City Anti-Violence Project Courage Awards: September 27th

Via press release:

The New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP) will hold its 16th Annual Courage Awards on Thursday, September 27, 2012 at Studio 450 at 6:00 p.m. AVP’s Courage Awards were created 16 years ago to honor outstanding individuals, organizations and corporations whose work on behalf of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and HIV-affected communities—particularly on behalf of victims and survivors of violence—has made a profound impact on all of our lives.

This year AVP will present awards to: • BD Wong, star of television and Broadway, and a tremendous, long-time spokesperson for and supporter of AVP • Verizon Wireless, for their support of AVP’s mission and work and for their commitment to LGBTQH communities and the issues that matter most to us • Interbank Roundtable Committee, a networking group of LGBT leaders at financial services firms— and AVP supporters—dedicated to accelerating the pace of workplace equality.

The Courage Awards will be followed by the Courage Awards After Dark after party with DJ Kevin Graves. The bar is sponsored by Purity Vodka, Mount Gay Rum, Lagunitas Beer and Izze. Past honorees and presenters of the Courage Awards include Bilerico, Joe.My.God, Pam’s House Blend, Towleroad, Alan Cumming, Eve Ensler, Harvey Fierstein, Tony Kushner, Ana Matronic, Juliane Moore, Judy Shepard, Deutsche Bank, Mercedes Benz USA, Sundance Channel and Time Warner Inc., among others. AVP empowers lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and HIV-affected communities and allies to end all forms of violence through organizing and education, and supports survivors through counseling and advocacy.

Get tickets here.

PSA: Bullying Is Violence

Bloggers Honored By NYC's LGBT Anti-Violence Project

Last night Pam Spaulding of Pam's House Blend, Andy Towle of Towleroad, and Bil Browning of The Bilerico Project and I attended the NYC Anti-Violence Project's Courage Awards, where we were honored for our work as "citizen journalists" - a term Pam calls "the glamour word for bloggers, don'tcha know, since we didn't have PJs on." We had elected Pam as our spokesperson and here is the speech she made on our behalf after our introduction by SiriusXM host and activist Michelangelo Signorile.

Because crimes against LGBT people are seldom reported on a national basis, and covered mostly in local papers, if at all, we have a valuable opportunity to raise awareness about how severe and widespread these crimes are, and the frequency at which they occur. As one of the few forums, and perhaps the most effective, that exist right now to communicate these crimes to other gay people and our heterosexual allies, we can inspire them to take action.

We will never stop standing up for my fellow LGBT citizens when they are struck down by hate, and never ease the pressure on those who would choose to strike us down, whether by words or by fists. Whether it be a young trans woman in Colorado referred to as "it" by a lover she thought she trusted and struck down in a rage, or a bar goer who beats a gay man with his fist to the surface of a parking lot late at night after a night of drinking in South Carolina, or a man who decides he doesn't like the look of a lesbian couple in Provincetown so he decides to push them through a plate glass window, or two deadbeats in Laramie, Wyoming who decide to mete justice on a young gay man by beating him and leaving him to die on a frigid fence, we will continue to report each and every story.

We are humbled and challenged by the ability to communicate the amount of information we have regarding hate crimes to such a wide audience, and we will continue to be vigilant in my continuing coverage of violence against the LGBT community. It's a vigilance that would not be possible without my fellow bloggers Andy, Joe, and Bil. We cast a wide net and I am proud to be honored alongside them.

Pam has lots more photos and videos, including speeches made by co-honoree Tony Kushner, the Pulitzer-winning author of Angels In America, and Kushner's presenter, Law & Order's handsome BD Wong. It was a fantastic night. Please consider supporting the important work of the Anti-Violence Project - the people who, in the words of executive director Sharon Stapel, "come to the rescue of LGBT people at the absolute worst time of their lives."

November 9th: NYC Anti-Violence Project's 13th Annual Courage Awards

With the horrendous spate of brutal hate crimes seen recently in New York City, the important work of the NYC Anti-Violence Project has never been more vital. Please consider supporting them by attending Nov. 9th's 13th Annual Courage Awards fundraiser.

The New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP) will hold its 13th Annual Courage Awards on Monday, November 9, 2009 at the W New York Ballroom at 541 Lexington Avenue, New York. The evening includes cocktails and a chefs' tasting and a program featuring the award presentation.

At this year’s event, AVP has the privilege of honoring Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Tony Kushner, author of Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes and The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism With a Key to the Scriptures, for his truthful and cutting edge political writing and analysis; Weblog creators Bil Browning (The Bilerico Project), Joe Jervis (Joe.My.God.), Pam Spaulding (Pam's House Blend) and Andy Towle (Towleroad), in recognition of the impact of LGBTQH weblogs have made in the fight for civil rights and against violence in our communities; and Clifford Chance US LLP, for their commitment to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and HIV-affected (LGBTQH) rights and extensive work on behalf of the communities AVP serves.

I am delighted and humbled to be one of the LGBT bloggers honored at this year's event. Andy Towle, Bil Browning, and I have elected Pam Spaulding to make our collective acceptance speech, during which I'll likely be fidgeting nervously nearby. Here's the mission statement for the Anti-Violence Project:

AVP provides free and confidential assistance to thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and HIV-affected (LGBTQH) people each year from all five boroughs of New York City. The organization maintains a 24- hour, Spanish/English bilingual hotline staffed by professional counselors and trained volunteers providing professional and peer support counseling, as well as advocacy with police, courts, and social service agencies.

AVP works with the larger community through efforts to educate the public about violence within and against our communities and to reform government policies and practices affecting LGBTQH and other survivors of violence. AVP works to educate law enforcement, health care professionals, school-based staff, and social service agency personnel on violence issues impacting our communities. By calling attention to discriminatory and re-victimizing responses, AVP works to hold law enforcement and social service agencies accountable to their obligation for fair and just treatment of LGBTQH people.

Additionally, AVP tracks and documents anti-LGBTQH incidents and domestic violence and uses this information to educate our own communities about safe dating, safe cruising, recognizing the signs of abuse, and much more. AVP works to change public attitudes that encourage and condone hate-motivated violence, and to promote public policies designed to deter such violence.

Purchase your 2009 Courage Awards tickets here.

Broadway Friday

- Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Kushner will receive the Courage Award from the NYC Anti-Violence Project at an event to be held November 9th. Get tickets here.

The evening will include cocktails, a chefs' tasting, and a program featuring the award presentation. Honorees will also include Clifford Chance US LLP, and Weblog creators Bil Browning, Joe Jervis, Pam Spaulding and Andy Towle. AVP is an organization that serves New York's Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and HIV-Affected communities.

- Christine Lahti, Jimmy Smits, Annie Potts and Ken Stott join the cast of Gods Of Carnage.

- Sutton Foster will star in City Center's production of Anyone Can Whistle.

- On October 29th, Ian McKellen will stage a one-night only performance of his personal life retrospective for the Shakespeare Theater Company in Washington DC. "His solo performance weaves together stories of his early experiences in the theatre, his advocacy of GLBT rights and his more recent world-wide acclaim and film celebrity. This will be a rare opportunity to hear the personal and heartfelt story of one of the greatest living actors of stage and screen."

- The cast of GLEE will perform the national anthem before Game 3 of the World Series, to take place either in Los Angeles or Philadelphia.

- The first ever revival of Bye Bye Birdy opens "with a thud."

Sunday: Rally To Protest Gay Bashings

This Sunday in Queens, the NYC Anti-Violence Project and others will rally to protest a recent spate of gay bashings around the city.

Leslie Mora, 30, was attacked June 19 in Jackson Heights by two men who shouted anti-gay slurs and hurled a belt at her, cops said. Less than three weeks later, on July 8, Carmella Etienne, 22, was pelted with rocks and beer bottles by two other men in St. Albans, police said. The suspects also threatened to cut her throat. In response to the attacks, the Queens gay community has scheduled a rally Sunday to raise awareness about violence against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. The rally, to start at 2 p.m. in front of the Jackson Heights Post Office at 37th Ave. and 78th St., is the first of several events being planned on the issue. "We want to show people that transgender people still fight for survival," said local transgender activist Melissa Sklarz of Woodside. "With these two attacks in Queens, it forces us to reexamine our relationship with our neighborhoods.

Anti-Violence Project executive director Sharon Stapel notes that the summer of 2009 has been particularly bad, with over 80 gay-related instances of violence or harassment reported to her organization over the last two months.

UES Gay Bashing Spree Continues, AVP Issues Community Alert

The NYC Anti-Violence Project has issued a community alert (PDF) after a third Upper East Side gay bashing in one week by what appears to be the same group of young men who committed the attack I reported on Monday. The victim in that attack provided the NYPD with the sketch (left) of one of the men involved in his assault. There have been three other attacks on non-gay persons.

Community Alert: Three out of six attacks in the last month on the Upper East Side investigated as anti-LGBT Hate Crimes.

This morning, the New York City Anti-Violence Project learned of six violent attacks on the Upper East Side that have occurred in the span of just over a month, but most between June 26th through June 28th. A disturbing commonality in at least two of the incidents has been the use of slews of anti-gay epithets during the attacks, regardless of the self-identity of the victims. Three of the incidents are being investigated as Hate Crimes by the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force. The Anti-Violence Project is urging the NYPD to investigate all six as possible hate crimes. All of the attacks occurred in the early morning hours.

The news comes just after the release of the 2008 Hate Violence against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People in the United States report, which includes the New York City Anti-Violence Project’s data on anti-LGBT hate violence in New York City. The report documents that in NYC there was a 12% decrease in reports of incidents, but an increase in the severity of the attacks. Murders alone increased 67%; robbery and larceny rose 140%, and sexual assaults increased 171%. The recent reports from the Upper East Side have made clear that the trend in severity appears to be continuing.

On Sunday a 40 year-old man was assaulted on Second Avenue near East 84th Street as he walked alone from the subway. Police are seeking the same four to six young white men for all the attacks.

Brutal Gay Bashing On Upper East Side

The NYC Anti-Violence Project is investigating the case of a gay man who was viciously beaten yesterday by a group of men who called him a "faggot." The incident happened on the usually sedate Upper East Side. The Village Voice reports:

Joe Holladay, in town on business, was jumped and beaten Saturday morning by a group of men who called him a faggot. Holladay tells us that he walked out of John Jerome's apartment on East 85th Street between York and East End Avenues, where he'd been staying, at about 4 a.m. to smoke a cigarette on the sidewalk, and five or six young men swarmed him. "It's very blurry," he says, "But yeah, they said 'faggot.' And the next thing I know I'm in the hospital." Jerome, an acting coach, heard the fracas and came downstairs to find his friend "in a pool of blood. I thought he was dead. He wasn't moving." Jerome says neighbors in the building told him, and the police, that they saw a group of five or six young white men "with crewcuts, wearing wife-beaters" smoking pot outside the building just before the incident -- and, drawn to their window by the noise when the beating occurred, heard the anti-gay epithets and saw the young men pile into a car and drive away.

Holladay has been interviewed by NYPD detectives and has been released from the hospital. According the Voice, Holladay and his friend were threatened with arrest themselves when they vehemently argued with police that the case should be treated as a hate crime.

2007 AVP Courage Awards

Hosted by actor B.D. Wong (left), the NYC LGBT Anti-Violence Project held its 2007 Courage Awards on Monday. New York State Assemblyman Daniel J. O'Donnell and Verna Eggleston, Former Commissioner of the New York City Human Resources Administration and Executive Director of the Hetrick-Martin Institute, now with the Bloomberg Family Foundation were both honored with awards for their work on behalf of of the community. [BELOW LEFT: Eggleston. BELOW RIGHT: O'Donnell and AVP Executive Director Clarence Patton. PHOTOS: Rob Rich/NySocialScene.com.]