FIRST CASE in nation charging violation of SEXUAL ORIENTATION section of FEDERAL HATE CRIMES LAW

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two Kentucky men have been charged with a federal hate crime in a beating attack on a gay man in an Appalachian park, marking the first time the law has been applied in a U.S. case alleging bias over a victim’s sexual orientation, authorities said.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Lexington announced the charges against cousins David Jason Jenkins, 37, of Cumberland, and Anthony Ray Jenkins, 20, of Partridge. Both were indicted by a federal grand jury earlier this week in connection with the April 2011 attack that left victim Kevin Pennington with chest, head and other injuries.

The grand jury charged the men with violating a hate crime law that was expanded in 2009 to cover assaults motivated by bias against gays, lesbians and transgender people. They also were indicted on federal kidnapping, assault and conspiracy charges . . .

“The indictment marks the first federal case in the nation charging a violation of the sexual orientation section of the Federal Hate Crimes Law,” said a U.S. Department of Justice statement.

“It’s vindicating to see that the years of hard work that went into making sure this law was on the books is now being put into place,” said Michael Cole-Schwartz, a spokesman for the Washington-based Human Rights Campaign, which pushed for the law’s passage.


read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/federal-grand-jury-in-kentucky-issues-first-indictment-using-hate-crime-law-for-gay-victims/2012/04/12/gIQAlcT1DT_print.html

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1. I could just see the numerous calls here for the Justice Dept, to 'DO SOMETHING'

So, they have . . . will they get any support or approval from those of us who've advocated for this law or are we just done now with all of this now that it's out of the spotlight?

This type of ignoring of the process makes me wonder what all of the activism and advocacy here was all about. We tend to rally like crazy to enact laws, and then, give them a big yawn when they're being implemented. Baffling. Just incomprehensible to me.

[Zorra]

2. It sure appears to be a hate crime.

A hate crime is an assault on an individual, or individuals based on bias against a group.

The assault effects the targeted group of which the victim is a part of. A hate crime against an individual is essentially a form of terrorism; it has the effect of instilling feelings of fear and vulnerability in other members of the group to which the victim belongs.

It's good to see this law covering the LGBT community, and good to see it applied in this case.

Hopefully, if the 4 perpetrators are found guilty of a hate crime, their extreme sentences including long prison termswill have the effect of creating terror in bigots and deter them from hurting innocent people.

Thanks for this post.

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3. I'm floored that this is the first application for sexual orientation

I'm behind this prosecution 100%. I'm also hoping this sets a precedent; both in the public minds and in our nation's prosecutors offices.

[MineralMan]

4. I hope that, if this case is successfully prosecuted,

that more such prosecutions occur. Prosecuting hate crime laws may well have an effect on reducing the number of hate crimes. I hope so, at least.

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5. that is the hope, MineralMan

It takes this type of leadership to change the mindset out there. It won't happen overnight, but being proactive and uncompromising in these prosecutions should send a strong signal to succeeding generations.

[MineralMan]

6. This first case is important, I think.

And I imagine they waited until they had one that was very likely to succeed before filing. They want this to go well. As you say, it won't happen overnight, as much as we'd all like it to.

Now, if every state would include sexual orientation as a part of their hate crimes laws and prosecute aggressively, that would be even better.

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7. kick

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

8. Here is a page with lots more information

http://news.kyequality.org/

The guy was lucky to live through the incident. Sounds like they convicted themselves by talking on the phone from jail.

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9. got it, ADW

thanks much!

[Typical NYC Lib]

10. Kick

For some reason, the rec isn't registering.

[MrBig]

11. Surprised it took this long for a case to come up

Great law that hopefully will not be needed in the future (but, given the rhetoric still existant in our society, no doubt is needed today).