Elizabeth Edwards: "I thought we learned some lessons from Laramie and Matthew Shepard."

[Bluebear]

Elizabeth Edwards said Saturday she is troubled by the suspected anti-gay beating death of a Sacramento man, and said the killing of Satender Singh demands renewed condemnations of hate speech in America.

Singh, a 26-year-old Fijian immigrant, died four days after he was attacked July 1 at Lake Natoma by an angry group hurling explicit gay slurs and racial remarks.

Edwards, campaigning in Sacramento for her husband, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards of North Carolina, said she was so affected by news of Singh's death that she rewrote a speech on human rights she was due to deliver later Saturday in San Francisco.

"I thought we learned some lessons from Laramie and Matthew Shepard," Edwards said in an interview, referring to the fatal 1998 beating of a gay college student in Wyoming that triggered an uproar over anti-gay violence......

http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/273482.html

Elizabeth Edwards told a prominent gay rights group Saturday night that her husband, presidential candidate John Edwards, would help repeal more than a thousand laws that discriminate against same-sex couples.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289359,00.html

[TommyO]

1. I'm loving Elizabeth Edwards more and more each day.

[xultar]

3. Oh and what TommyO said too.

[TommyO]

7. Not that I didn't love her in the first place!

With everything she has gone through, including Kerry's concession to Bush and her bouts with breast cancer, she has remained an incredibly compassionate person. I can only hope that she speaks out in favor of universal health care, that way other people might have a shot at getting the medical treatment that she received. Wait, she has! BRAVO!!!!

[rodeodance]

5. ah---the US could have 2 for 1?

[xultar]

2. Elizabeth - you are too awesome for words!

[stevedeshazer]

4. E. Edwards is a first-class human being

Good on her for speaking out.

[givemebackmycountry]

6. I really love this woman - she's continually impressing me -

Imagine - speaking in front of a prominent gay rights group as the wife of a major Presidential candidate.
Can you imagine one of the Republican candidates wives doing that?

I look at Elizabeth Edwards, and then I consider the vapid Laura Bush.
What a dramatic difference between the two.

Hate is going to rot this country from the inside unless we reject it completely.
Today, I was reading that article (see front page) about the NRO Right Wing Cruise where one woman was calling for the "execution" of liberals.
Hate...

Hat's off to Elizabeth Edwards.

[goodgd_yall]

8. Thanks for posting this

I read this in the Bee today and thought of posting it too. I like what she said. Edwards earns a few points for having an intelligent and compassionate wife who could have a positive influence on the executive office.

[regnaD kciN]

9. I think the wrong Edwards is running for President...

Personally, I'd support Elizabeth in a moment. (Which, by the way, gives the lie to the meme by Hillary-backers that the only reason why a Democrat wouldn't be behind HRC is simple sexism. :eyes: )

[Missy Vixen]

10. I have to agree

If Gore does not toss his hat into the ring, I will support Edwards. At the same time, truly, I would walk barefoot over broken glass to vote for Elizabeth. I believe that she would make an outstanding President.

I can only hope that we have her with us for many, many more years.

Julie

[GreenPartyVoter]

37. Agreed

[mzmolly]

47. I've always said I wish she were running. Though I like John,

I "love" Elizabeth.

[UnitedFateOfAmerica]

11. I thought the Shepard thing was somewhat proven to be about drugs and kind of discredited.

Wasn't it shown on 20/20 that they whole lot of these guys were involved with drugs and that was motive for the crime? If so, why are folks bringing this up now?

[Warren DeMontague]

13. It was discredited just like it was proven that Saddam was behind 9-11.

Oh, and they found WMDs in Iraq.

:eyes:

[UnitedFateOfAmerica]

18. I read the wikipedia page on it

It qoutes two officers in the section about the 20 20 show. One of them says it was about drug robbery. Another officer stick to the original story.



"Critics also highlight that the report also omitted key facts related to the murder that clearly indicate its biased nature. Former Laramie Police Detective Ben Fritzen is given special prominence in the piece, going on record as saying "Matthew Shepard's sexual preference or sexual orientation certainly wasn't the motive in the homicide. If it wasn't Shepard, they would have found another easy target. What it came down to really is drugs and money and two punks that were out looking for it." <17>

However, retired Police Chief of Laramie, Commander Dave O'Malley -- who was also interviewed by ABC and later blasted the report -- weighed in on Fritzen's remark after it was aired. He pointed out that the drug motive does not disqualify the anti-gay motive: “My feelings have been that the initial contact was probably motivated by robbery because they needed money. What they got was $20 and a pair of shoes ... then something changed and changed profoundly.”<20>"


From the Wikipedia page. The only words on that thing you can listen to are the cops. Those thugs apparently had a few versions that they told. The thing is I think it was originally made out like these guys went out looking to bash homosexual. Apparently it was more about drugs, and then may have gone off into hate crimes as it developed.

[ninkasi]

20. My answer to you is...

Go. Away.

[originalpckelly]

22. I think you're full of crap.

Of course, just like those officers, that's my opinion.

[philosophie_en_rose]

34. The police officers were not witnesses.

And wikipedia is as reliable as George W. Bush as a spell checker.

[originalpckelly]

17. Even if that were true...

there are plenty of other gays and lesbians who've been killed at the hands of violent bigots.

[UnitedFateOfAmerica]

19. Plenty of many innocent people killed for moronic reasons.

This is true to a certainty.

[originalpckelly]

21. I wonder how many people have been killed just because they're uptight white Christian conservatives

I'm willing to bet, not as many as have been killed for being black or gay.

[JANdad]

36. HEHE

HE only made it to three posts...all in the same thread...

[Warren DeMontague]

53. No! Tombstoned? Not that guy!

Who knew? :rofl:

[Toasterlad]

26. You're Half Right. The 20/20 Piece WAS Discredited as a Hatchet Job.

Many people that 20/20 interviewed for that story were not included, and many more were quoted out of context. 20/20 went into the town with an agenda, and any evidence they found that did not support that agenda was cast aside. Any testimony that could be remotely spun to fit that agenda was spun. It was yellow journalism at it's shittiest.

I don't know whether or not you're a troll, or if you're sincerely ignorant about the 20/20 segment and the Matthew Sheppard case. Either way, thanks for allowing me to set the record straight in case there's anyone who actually believed 20/20's lies and half-truths.

Matthew Sheppard was not a saint by any standards. But he was killed because he was gay. And that makes him a martyr.

[Midlodemocrat]

28. You thought wrong.

[Zhade]

29. How fucking DARE you.

Take your homophobic lies elsewhere. They are not welcome here.

[DeSwiss]

30. Please cite your source.

It wasn't about drugs. It was about Matthew being gay. Period.

During court cases both of the defendants used varying stories to defend their actions. They attempted to use the "gay panic defense", arguing that they were driven to temporary insanity by Shepard's alleged sexual advances toward them. At another point they stated that they had only wanted to rob Shepard and never intended to kill him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Shepard

They told the truth when they admitted it was about him being gay. After that, they changed their stories to try and fit anything that would lessen their sentences. None worked.

Until people in this country admit that gay people are being discriminated against, abused and killed just for being gay, then they're part of the problem. And they will hold part of the responsibility for whatever springs from that hatred and prejudice....

DeSwiss K&R

[Bluebear]

31. You thought wrong. What are you, a family values Republican?

Don't you have a diaper to change or something?

[wicket]

33. Bye bye disruptor!

FU

[mondo joe]

46. WTF are you talking about? More made up shit?

?

[LostinVA]

50. How dare you

[gaspee]

52. Bullshit

Fucking bullshit right wing talking points.

Proven? Like how dinasaurs were in the garden of fucking eden proven?

Welcome to DU

I consistantly amazes me the blatant homophobia on a democratic website. To try to say that young man was murdered because of something he did (ie drugs) is a disgrace to his memory and just another example of how people with an agenda do anything they can to demean and belittle gay peopl, even in death.

And if you don't know just how offensive you're being, then there is no hope for you.

[originalpckelly]

12. Gays and lesbians need to arm themselves.

Next time a violent bigot tries to kill a homosexual, it'd be nice if they got more than they bargained for.

[TahitiNut]

14. Elizabeth is John's best qualification. Even better than his hair.

:evilgrin:

She's awesome ... smart, pretty, huggable, accomplished, honest, people-oriented, and with values I can admire.
It'd take ALL my restraint to keep from hugging her in a rope line or at a fund-raiser.

[originalpckelly]

16. I know, she seems like a genuinely nice lady.

[ninkasi]

23. I agree...

She's amazing, isn't she?

[Warren DeMontague]

15. Good For Her.

:applause:

[Manifestor_of_Light]

24. Kenneth Cummings Jr. killed in June in Houston

Warning: GRAPHIC DETAILS



Terry Mark Mangum said he was "doing God's work" when he went to a Montrose area Houston gay bar and picked up Kenneth Cummings Jr. on June 4th and went back to Mr. Cummings' apartment and stabbed him to death with a six inch blade. His charred body was found later in a shallow grave on the defendant's grandfather's ranch near San Antonio.

QUOTE:
Mangum, who described himself as "definitely not a homosexual" said God called on him to "carry out a code of retribution" by killing a gay man because "sexual perversion" is the "worst sin"...."I planned on sending him to hell."



http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4968717.html

:cry: :cry: :cry:

[BattyDem]

25. Can I vote for Elizabeth Edwards?

She impresses me more every day! :-)

[Toasterlad]

27. Too Bad Her Husband Still Thinks We're Second Class.

[benny05]

35. That's not true

He supports civil unions, and it is a very positive step.

Having said that, I tend to agree with Mrs. Edwards that I think civil marriage should be extended to all US citizens.

I wish we could get another version of ERA going. I think it would pass this time.

[Toasterlad]

38. Ah, Yes...Separate But Equal. There Was a Lot of That in Alabama in the 50's.

John said it's for the states to decide if same-sex marriage is legal. How come we didn't let the states decide if black people could marry white people? Probably because it's monstrous to allow the infringement of basic human rights ANYWHERE. And how well are those "civil unions" working out for the good people of New Jersey?

John is undecided on extending Family Medical Leave Act to same-sex couples. He is also undecided on legislation that would allow American citizens to sponsor their same-sex partners for immigration into the country.

You either believe in equality for GLBT people, or you don't. Edwards can sit on the fence all he wants, but it's clear that he's just not quite ready to see us as real people yet.

[Bluebear]

39. Interesting, though, a long list a LGBT endorsements:

http://johnedwards.com/news/press-releases/200700410-lgbt/

[Toasterlad]

40. Well, He's Better Than a REPUBLICAN, Certainly.

We have to endorse SOMEBODY. But me, I'm giving my vote (and money) to Kucinich.

[benny05]

42. David Mixner is no small potatoes either

Thanks for the list.

[benny05]

41. My view is like EE's

I cannot change JRE's viewpoint (he has his own view) about civil marriage, but civil unions, and the repeal of DOMA, which he supports, are good starts. And to mock him with Plessy vs Ferguson is rather extreme, considering he has been for the little guy all of his life.

Which other candidate represents your views best that is electable in the general election, if I may so inquire?

[Bluebear]

43. From the same article, EE was brought up with more sophistication lol

"I come from a background where I moved around a lot. I lived nine years in Japan. I saw people of different religions. I saw people of different lifestyles, and I think it was an easier journey for me because of that.

"John was brought up in the pews of Southern Baptist churches, and it's a more difficult path for him to take."

But she said her husband doesn't believe that "government should be in the business of telling churches which relationships they can bless with marriage sacraments."

:)

[Toasterlad]

44. As I Said, I'm Voting for Kucinich

Actually, I think the Plessy/Ferguson analogy is spot on. What Edwards is proposing is no more or less than "separate but equal", in that gay people have the right to civil unions, which presumably, would make them "equal" to the people who have the right to get married, but the two would remain "separate". No matter how much good he's done for the "little guy" all his life, he's wrong on this issue.

I'm not about to get into a debate about whether or not Kucinich is "electable". I'll just say that, as an American, I have a right to cast my vote for the person I believe will best serve my needs, and the needs of the country, as president. I have a right to ignore the pre-packaged, corporate approved candidates carefully chosen by the powers that be, from which I'm directed to pick either "A" or "B". If more Americans remembered this, Dennis Kucinch might not be so "unelectable".

[benny05]

48. So you mock Edwards openly

Your choice and you believe what you do. I think Edwards knows what is doable or not. I don't believe Dennis does, but if he is your candidate, I respect that. But Dennis is not electable in the general election. I hope you will support Edwards or whoever Dem in the general election.

[Toasterlad]

51. I Don't Think of It as "Mocking" Him

I think of it as keeping him honest. I believe in a lot of the other things that he believes in, but I'm not going to just not call him (or Hillary, or Obama) on his hypocisy over GBLT issues.

Like I said, I'm not getting into a debate over whether or not Kucinich is electable. I'll decide who I'm voting for in the general when the time comes. Right now, Kucinich is my man, because he's one of only two candidates that is willing to give me the same rights as any other American.

[wicket]

32. K & R

:kick:

[waiting for hope]

45. Elizabeth Edwards - what a beautiful

and delightful soul. She is going to make the position of First Lady shine again.

[Mark Twain Girl]

49. I'm pretty damn cynical, and this woman still gets to me! n/t