BENT! The Gay News Blog

Room-mate guilty on hate crime charges

Ravi had invited others to watch roomie Tyler Clementi over a webcam


Source:

Stephen Gray
16 March 2012.

Dharun Ravi

A jury has found a New Jersey university student who watched Tyler Clementi kissing another man in their room days before he killed himself guilty of 15 charges. Dharun Ravi shared a room at Rutgers University with18-year-old Tyler Clementi in late 2010 for only a few weeks before the latter’s death. The prosecution did not implicate Ravi in his late room-mate’s death, but he faced over a dozen charges ranging from invasion of privacy to bias intimidation, tampering with evidence and hindering apprehension. Ravi, now 20, was found guilty of tampering with evidence and witnesses after he tried to alter Twitter and text messages he had sent out encouraging others to join him in spying on Clementi’s gay acts over a webcam. The three-week trial ended in two days of jury deliberations. It was accepted by both sides that after Tyler Clementi had asked for the room one evening, Ravi used a webcam to see what he was doing and saw him kissing another man. Fellow student Molly Wei had been present at the original incident. She made an agreement last year that charges would be dropped against her if she agreed to testify against Ravi. Ravi had tweeted: “Room mate asked for the room till midnight. I went into molly’s room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay.” He later tweeted that it was “happening again”, inviting others to watch.

Mr Clementi wrote afterwards that he felt Ravi was a “pretty decent” room-mate but his messages to friends were inconsistent and he went on to report the incident to officials at Rutgers University in NewJersey. He jumped from the George Washington bridge the following day. Ravi’s lawyers argued that their client had had little experience of h.om.s.exuality before starting at university that autumn and that “he wasn’t ready for” what he saw. They further said the man who Tyler Clementi had brought back to the room was older and had unsettled Ravi. ABC quotes Middles.ex County Prosecutor Julie McClure saying: “Three weeks into the semester and [Mr Clementi] finds out that his s.exual orientation has been broadcast to the defendant’s twitter followers. Ravi had pleaded innocent to the charges, rejecting a plea bargain in December 2011. The charges are punishable by up to 10 years in prison but because Ravi is in the US on a green card, it has been reported that he may face deportation to his native India.

Teen lesbian honoured with GLAAD award for 200,000-strong film petition

A teenage girl who created an online petition to re-classify a doc.umentary film about gay bullying will be honoured at the GLAAD awards, this month.

Source:

Peter Lloyd
Saturday, 17 March 2012

Katy Baker

A teenage girl who created an online petition to re-classify a doc.umentary film about gay bullying will be honoured at the GLAAD awards, this month. Katy Butler, 17, used petition site Change.org to garner 200,000 signatures for her fight against the R-rating of the doc.umentary 'Bully'. Her efforts, which were later presented to the Los Angeles office of the Motion Picture Association of America, saw it re-graded as suitable for young viewers - making it accessible to the people who perhaps need it most. The film, which shows the devastating effects of bullying, will already be honoured at the annual Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation event. But now, the Michigan student – who was recently rewarded for her hardwork on the Ellen show – will also receive a special recognition award, presented by Harvey Weinstein.

“I am proud and honored to present this Award to Katy," Weinstein says in a statement adding: "Her commitment to this campaign and passion for taking action against bullying is incredibly impressive." The 23rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards will take place at theMarriott Marquis in New York City on 24 March .

Two Gay Men And A Transgender Woman Hospitalized After Anti-LGBT Attacks Hit Washington D.C. Neighborhood

Source:

March 15 2012
Abridged version

Three Washington D.C.-based residents were hospitalized this week after what has been deemed a "spate of GLBT violence" in the Columbia Heights neighbourhood. One gay man was shot on March 11, while another gay man and a transgender woman were badly beaten on the street the following day in separate incidents. Police have listed the attacks against the two gay men as anti-gay hate crimes. At present, the gay male victims remained hospitalized this week, with one being treated for a bullet wound to his liver and the other awaiting surgery Wednesday afternoon to repair a broken jaw. The transgender woman was treated and released for a head injury after being knocked unconscious. Mayor Vincent C. Gray released a statement denouncing the attacks:

"All crime is horrific and destructive to the fabric of our community, but especially violent behavior that targets people becauseof their ethnic background, s.exual orientation, faith or other identifying characteristics. These kinds of crimes are particularly insidious, because theyare designed to instill fear in an entire community. This cannot and will not stand in the District of Columbia, where all of our residents have the right to walk the streets of our neighborhoods free of fear, regardless of their identities, beliefs or characteristics. The Metropolitan Police Department and I will not rest until the perpetrators of these brutal crimes are arrested, tried and safely locked away."

It's A Myth
Myth
In a same s.ex relationship one party plays the male role the other the female role.

Fact
Because we're raised to think of a relationship in male-female role terms, people assume these roles are emulated in a same-s.ex relationship.
These sort of ideas about relationship roles are very old fashioned. In our modern world even traditional ideas about female and male roles within a heteros.exual relationship have changed : stay-at-home fathers, career women etc. Whether straight or gay people are very diverse and they create relationships that suit them.

It's A Quote
Everyone has people in their lives that are gay, lesbian or transgender or bis.exual. They may not want to admit it, but I guarantee they know somebody.
Billie Jean King

I can't take on all the worries of the world, you know. I can only talk about being gay and being an actor. I'll have to leave those other battles to somebody else.
Ian McKellen

You live with the fear people might find out. Then you actually have the courage to tell people and they go, I don't think you are gay!. It's enough to drive you crazy.
Portia de Rossi