IN RESPONSE TO SUDDEN WIDESPREAD OUTRAGE, IN AN ACT OF SOLIDARITY,
NEW YORKERS WILL GATHER AT MANHATTAN’S PIER 45 (AT CHRISTOPHER STREET) FOR A VIGIL

IN MEMORIAM OF JORGE STEVEN LÓPEZ MERCADO

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2009 AT 5:00 PM

On the night of Friday, November 13, 2009, 26-year-old Juan Martinez Matos picked up 19-year-old Jorge Steven López Mercado in Caguas, Puerto Rico, and drove him to the nearby town of Cidra, Puerto Rico. After discovering that Mercado, who was dressed as a female, was a man, Matos, in a whirlwind of rage, not only murdered Mercado, but beheaded him and dismembered his body. The remains were then partially set on fire.

Mercado’s body was discovered in the nearby town of Cayey, Puerto Rico. A search for the murderer immediately began, Matos was apprehended, has confessed, and is imprisoned with bail set at four million dollars. Initial reports seem to indicate that the line of defense will be invoking “gay panic”, a strategy commonly used in recent times with varying degrees of success. In a troubling interview with Univisión, police investigator Ángel Rodríguez Colón went on record as saying (as translated into English), “These types of people, when they enter this lifestyle and go out into the streets know that this could happen.”

We find this unacceptable, and furthermore call for a stop to the blaming of the victim in this case. Never in Puerto Rico’s history has a crime been prosecuted with a hate crimes provision attached, despite the existence of said provision since 2002. We want to make sure that this is the first case.

The Manhattan vigil will occur in conjunction with satellite Sunday vigils in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Durham, and other American cities. The resulting photographic and video footage will be used in efforts for full prosecution of this case.

Speakers slotted include major political, social, and artistic leaders of New York City.

The organizers wish to thank thank GLAAD, The LGBT Community Center, Dignity, Anti-Violence Project, LCOA, and the office of Speaker Quinn for their continued support in these efforts.

Information for events outside of New York can be found here.
The Facebook group can be found here.

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