From: Date: Wed, 15 Mar 1995 17:38:32 -0500 Subject: Amedure Murder/Media Op-Ed Dear editors: After reading numerous media accounts about the murder of Scott Amedure and working with activists in Detroit to refocus attention onto anti-gay violence and away from the critique of hysterical talk shows, I have written the following opinion piece that I hope you will consider. Wire stories, the Washington Post, The New York Times and National Public Radio, the sheriff's lieutenant in Detroit and the county prosecutor are all focusing on the talk shows while virtually ignoring the real issue -- one man was murdered last week simply because he was gay. Please consider the following commentary for your publication. Thank you. --------------------------------- Commentary by Robin Kane, Media Director at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in Washington, DC Last Thursday, a gay man named Scott Amedure was shot to death while he stood unarmed in the doorway of his trailer home. The accused and confessed murderer, John Schmitz, is an acquaintance of Amedure's. Schmitz had appeared on the Jenny Jones Show with Amedure just three days earlier, when Amedure acknowledged that he had a crush on his straight male acquaintance. Contrary to media coverage of this event, "surprise," "humiliation" and the Jenny Jones Show did not lead to Amedure's murder. Instead, it is the rampant homophobia of this culture that is at the root of this murder. Yes, talk shows are increasingly exploitative, with each show upping the ante for drama and surprises. In their thirst for ratings, talk show producers often ignore the real-life implications of the drama they create. The producers of this program certainly did not consider the all-too-real drama of anti-gay bigotry that would quickly lead to Scott Amedure's murder. These shows need to seriously evaluate their surprise tactics and should refrain from creating volatile situations. The sheriff's department, the county prosecutor on the case and the media are all pointing to the "surprise" and "humiliation" of the accused murderer to explain the incident. A sheriff's lieutenant told the press that the public revelation of a gay man's crush had "eaten away" at Schmitz. The county prosecutor who is responsible for pursuing charges against Schmitz aimed most of his vitriol during a news conference last week not at the accused murderer, but at the Jenny Jones Show. According to that prosecutor, Amedure is dead because of Schmitz's "humiliation." Friends of Schmitz are quoted throughout press reports discussing Schmitz's embarrassment that a gay man had a crush on him. Wire stories, the Washington Post and a commentary on National Public Radio all focused enormous space on the humiliation and the hysteria of talk shows. The New York Times ran an AP story on Sunday under the headline, "Fatal Shooting Follows Surprise on TV Talk Show" with a fuller story on Tuesday headlined, "After Killing, Hard Questions for Talk Shows." Why is it that the sheriff's department, the county prosecutor and the media seem to fully understand Schmitz's confessed feelings of humiliation without any real discussion of its cause? Is it because Schmitz was not interested in the person who expressed having a crush on him? Certainly not. Every woman in this country has at some time experienced unwanted interest from a group of men on a street corner. Is it, then, because the person who expressed interest in Schmitz is of a different sexual orientation than Schmitz? No, not really. As a lesbian, I navigate my way through the world without buying a shotgun and using it on straight men who merely express attraction. The sole reason that everyone is discussing Schmitz's "humiliation" with such ease is that homophobia is so rampant in this culture. It does not need to be directly stated. It is just a given that Schmitz would feel humiliated, according to the media and officials. While the media focus their attention on the hysteria of talk shows and the discomfort of their guests, little is being said about how Scott Amedure felt as he lay dying. One man was embarrassed, another man was shot twice in the chest with a shotgun. Surprise, humiliation and embarrassment are no excuse for murder. This tragedy highlights the deadly nature of homophobia in our society. That anyone should be killed simply for being gay is deplorable. Sadly, the murder of Scott Amedure is not an isolated incident. Last year, 59 gay and lesbian individuals are known to have lost their lives in bias-motivated murders. None of them followed a taping of a talk show, but they are equally dead because of homophobia. Rather than wringing their hands over Schmitz's so-called humiliation, elected officials, public leaders and the media should be using the occasion of Scott Amedure's murder to aggressively condemn and confront anti-gay bigotry and violence, which are at the root of Scott Amedure's death. A different headline, if true, --"After Killing, Anti-Gay Bigotry Roundly Condemned" -- could have helped prevent future incidents.