On November 14th, the body of Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado a 19 year-old gay man was found on an isolated road in the city of Cayey, Puerto Rico. Jorge was decapitated, dismembered and burned. His alleged murderer was caught and claimed that he originally believed Mercado was a female prostitute, and said that the murder was a result of self-defense - a typical "gay panic" response.
The original police investigator said, "These types of people, when they enter this lifestyle and go out into the streets know that this could happen." These comments have been widely condemned, as it is inconceivable that anyone would suggest that the victim deserved such a fate.
Equality Illinois, Orgullo en Accion, Boricua Pride, ALMA, Amigas Latinas and other LGBT organizations in Chicago and throughout the country have joined together to hold protest rallies and vigils in response this brutal and vicious murder.
Please join Equality Illinois for a candlelight vigil/march in Chicago's Humboldt Park - the hub of the city's Puerto Rican neighborhood:
Candlelight Vigil/March
Sunday, November 22, 2009
4 PM - 6 PM
Humboldt Park, Division & California
March to the Humboldt Park Boat House
Though Puerto Rico is subject to U.S. laws and must follow federal mandates, no murder there has yet been classified as a hate crime. With the recent signing of The Matthew Shepard & James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act by President Obama, the agent currently handling the case said that in addition to being charged with first degree murder, the perpetrator's actions will be submitted as a hate crime.
