Subject: Response to Double Killing
From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 11 Dec 1995 09:49:16 -0500

NGLTF STATEMENT RESPONDING TO DOUBLE KILLING OF LESBIAN ACTIVISTS IN OREGON

Contact:  Tracey Conaty, (202)332-6483 ext. 3303, [email-masked]
Scot Nakagawa, (503)283-1811, [email-masked]

 "Given the pattern of anti-gay harassment and violence that occurs in the
wake of Radical Right sponsored anti-gay iniatives, we are extremely
concerned and suspicious about the motive behind the brutal killing of
Roxanne Ellis and Michelle Abdill," stated Scot Nakagawa, Portland, OR based
Field Director for the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force.

 "Clearly, in Oregon and elsewhere, where anti-gay initiatives happen, so
does violence and discrimination. We urge law enforcement to investigate to
the fullest extent any possible bias aspects related to this incident.  We
may not know all the details of this case right now, but one thing we do know
is that our suspicions are well founded --- in communities that battle
anti-gay initiatives, violence against lesbians and gays increases," added
Nakagawa.

 In Medford, OR, Roxanne Ellis and Michelle Abdill were reported missing on
Monday December 4th.  On Thursday, December 8th, the bodies of Ellis, 54, and
Abdill, 42, were found brutally murdered.  Ellis and Abdill were active in
the local gay and lesbian community, including in the battle against anti-gay
initiatives.  Both worked with the local chapter of Parent, Families and
Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and were active in their church.

 Like campaigns in other states including Idaho, Colorado and, most recently,
Maine, initiative backers create an atmosphere of loathing and contempt that
imperils the lives of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people and supportive
citizens.    Proponents of anti-gay initiatives poison communities with
rhetoric and misinformation that vilifies and demonizes lesbians, gay men,
and bisexuals as sexual predators and undeserving of basic human rights and
protections against discrimination.  In this climate, hate violence against
lesbians and gay men increases dramatically.

  In cities and states with anti-violence projects able to document hate
crimes against gay men, lesbians and bisexuals, these projects consistently
report an increase in hate violence that mirrored the swelling of anti-gay
hate speech in their communities.

  In 1992 and 1994, the Oregon Citizen's Alliance (OCA) mounted unsuccessful
statewide anti-gay ballot initiative campaigns in an attempt to roll back
civil rights for lesbian, gay and bisexual citizens.  Between 1992 and 1994
OCA efforts resulted in 27 new city or countywide anti-gay laws.  Local
organizations reported a dramatic rise in anti-gay violence, including the
firebombing of the home of Hattie Mae Cohen, a lesbian, which we resulted in
her death as well as the death of Brian Mock, a gay man.

  Most recently, the Maine Gay and Lesbian Political Alliance reported at
least 10 known anti-gay incidents between June and October 1995.  By
contrast, the group reported only 4 incidents in the twelve months of 1994.
 Also in Maine, during the week after the initiative was defeated, yard signs
by Maine Won't Discriminate, the group that fought the iniative, were found
with bullet holes in them.

  In 1992, the Denver, CO anti-violence project reported that 41% of the
year's 204 homophobic episodes occurred in November and December after the
state's anti-gay Amendment 2 passed.  The project continued to report record
high numbers of anti-gay incidents until a series of court decisions
invalidated the amendment, when bias incidents declined to pre-Amendment 2
levels.  The Amendment 2 case is now before the U.S. Supreme Court.

  Gays and Lesbians across the country urge local law enforcement to fully
investigate the possible anti-lesbian bias aspects of these killings.  The
National Gay & Lesbian Task Force also calls on the Department of Justice to
investigate the increase in bias crime and civil rights violations in states
confronting anti-gay referenda.

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