Pandemic In Puerto Rico: 3 LGBT Murders This Week, 18 In 18 Months

[w8liftinglady]

http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/pandemic-in-puerto-rico-3-lgbt-murders-this-week-18-in-18-months/politics/2011/06/09/21653

At least three gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender Americans have been murdered in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico this week, bringing the tragic total to 18 in the past year and a half. While there are both local and federal hate crimes laws that would assist authorities in investigating and potentially stemming the rapid rise of these anti-​gay hate crimes, the Republican Governor of Puerto Rico, Luis G. Fortuño, has often refused to implement or access these statutes.

Luis G. Fortuño, whose term began in January, 2009, refused to classify as a hate crime the infamous decapitation murder of 19-​year old Jorge Steven López Mercado, perhaps the most-​publicized of the 18 murders. Only under threat from the federal government, was Mercado’s murder investigated as a possible hate crime. Last year, Fortuño attempted to ban same-​sex marriage in Puerto Rico permanently via a constitutional amendment.

[hlthe2b]

1. Psst... this tragic episode might be EPIDEMIC....

but, given its occurrence is limited to Puerto Rico (or the region--at least from the article) and not worldwide, it would not be PANDEMIC...

Bad enough as it is, for sure.