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Michael Sandy died when he was struck by a car while fleeing an attack by men he met in a gay chat room. (Photo courtesy Friendster)
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HOME > NEWS > NATIONAL NEWS
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NEW YORK (AP) — Three men convicted of beating a gay man and then chasing him onto a highway where he was struck by a car and killed were sentenced to prison on Nov. 20, prosecutors said. All three had been part of what prosecutors called a hate-inspired robbery scheme. On Oct. 8, 2006, they found Michael Sandy in an Internet chat room frequented by gay men, lured him out to Brooklyn’s remote Plum Beach with a promise of a date and then attacked him. When Sandy tried to escape, he was hit by a car on the Belt Parkway. Anthony Fortunato, 21, who had told jurors they shouldn’t convict him of a hate crime because he’s gay, was sentenced to seven to 21 years in prison for second-degree manslaughter as a hate crime and attempted petit larceny. John Fox, 20, was sentenced to seven to 21 years in prison for second-degree manslaughter as a hate crime and attempted robbery as a hate crime. Ilya Shurov, 21, who pleaded guilty, was sentenced to 17 1/2 years in prison for second-degree manslaughter as a hate crime and attempted robbery as a hate crime. A fourth man, Gary Timmons, pleaded guilty to attempted robbery as a hate crime and testified in the case in exchange for a four-year sentence. Fortunato claimed in court that the attack was not motivated by hate. But prosecutors argued that under the state hate crimes law, they didn’t have to prove that Sandy’s attackers hated gay men — only that they picked their victim because of his sexual orientation.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia Mayor John Street presided over his first ever same-sex commitment ceremony Nov. 24. Ryan Bunch and Micah Mahjoubian exchanged vows inside City Hall in a ceremony witnessed by about 125 people. Mahjoubian has worked in the mayor’s administration for the past eight years and asked Street to officiate. Street says he agreed because Mahjoubian is his friend. “I’ve come to respect him as a person, and if this is something he would like for me to do, then I’d like to do it for him,” Street said. Protesters opposed to gay marriage met the couple outside as they left City Hall. Through most of the 1990s, Street as City Council president strongly opposed legislation to provide benefits to same-sex partners of city employees. It eventually passed.
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Jennifer Granholm issued an order Nov. 21 that bars discrimination against state workers based on their “gender identity or expression,” which protects the rights of those who behave, dress or identify as members of the opposite sex. The Triangle Foundation, a Michigan-based group advocating rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, praised Granholm’s action “Coming out as transgender is a career-ender. Transgendered people lose their jobs all the time,” foundation policy director Sean Kosofsky told the Detroit Free Press. James Muffet, president of Citizens for Traditional Values, said Granholm was making a political gesture toward gay rights groups that backed her 2006 re-election bid.
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — The Dayton City Commission voted 3-1 last week to add sexual orientation and gender identity to a list of protected groups. The change becomes effective in 30 days. Mayor Rhine McLin supported the decision, saying it was time to do the right thing for the city. Dayton is the 15th Ohio municipality to enact protections based on sexual orientation. Local ministers asked for the vote to be delayed to allow for more public discussion, but commissioner Nan Whaley and other supporters said there had been enough time for debate. Stonewall Dems, a group of Ohio gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Democrats, met with each commissioner and turned in a draft of the proposed law change last month.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hate crime incidents rose nearly 8 percent last year, with hate crimes based on sexual orientation up 1.3 percent, the FBI reported. Police across the United States reported 7,722 criminal incidents in 2006 targeting victims or property as a result of bias against a race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnic or national origin or physical or mental disability. That was up 7.8 percent from 7,163 incidents reported in 2005. Since the FBI began collecting hate crime data in 1991, the ...
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