Subject: Fwd: Press Statement - PLEASE SHARE
From: <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 15 Dec 1995 12:22:59 -0500

---------------------
Forwarded message:
From:	[email-masked]
Date: 95-12-14 23:43:00 EST

>From Marcy aka [email-masked]

PRESS RELEASE
12/14/95

We are here as representatives of the gay, lesbian, and bisexual community,
our families and friends.  We are deeply concerned for the human rights and
safety of all individuals in our community.  We are here to respond to recent
developments in the murder case of Roxanne Ellis and Michelle Abdill.

We acknowledge today what we have said all along and continue to fear:  The 
murder of Roxanne Ellis and Michelle Abdill is a crime motivated by hatred.  
Despite the fact that a suspect has been apprehended, and despite the
confession 
of those close to him that the murders were a "botched robbery" as reported
in 
the press, our concerns and suspicions about the motives of this crime
remain.  

But first, we extend our ongoing condolences, support and love to the
families 
of Michelle and Roxanne.  We share in their grief and their hopes that the
truth 
of why these two brave, courageous women were taken from us will someday be 
revealed. 

We also express our gratitude to the Medford police for their timely,
courteous 
and cautious investigation.  It appears the suspect has recently exhibited a 
pattern of anti-social behavior.  Given this context, we appreciate the fact 
that the police are examining long and hard whether the brutal execution of 
these women was made more extreme by their lesbianism.

We as a community have many unanswered questions and persistent 
concerns that feed our trepidation:

  * We know the killer enacted a deliberate, calculated process of
entrapment. 
  * We know the killer wanted both victims.  
  * We know that money and credit cards were left at the scene.  
  * We know that the murderer killed the victims "execution style" -- bound 
at the hands and feet, gagged and blindfolded before being shot twice in the 
head at close range. 
  * We know the victims were visible and proud activists in the gay, lesbian
and bisexual community.  
  * We know that these murders occurred in a volatile climate of escalating
tensions against and scapegoating of gays and lesbians and other minorities.

What kind of robber leaves visible money at the crime scene?  Did this man
really have no knowledge that Roxanne and Michele were a lesbian couple,
when, as many here have said, to know them, even casually, or to walk into
their office, was to know they were proud and out lesbians and human rights
activists?  What is the real motive behind these murders given the rise in
violence against gay and lesbian people?

Toward that end, we have scheduled a meeting with police officials this
afternoon.  The community wants and needs answers.  We need answers to heal.
 We need 
answers to plan for our safety.  We must understand the true nature of the 
threat to our community.

 A key component of labeling something a "hate crime" is the presence of 
indicators that the crime was motivated by the victim's membership in a
target 
group.  There may not have been a hate crime "note" left with Michele and 
Roxanne, as Dr. James Olson, Jackson County Medical Examiner, stated
recently, but 
to us a message was clearly left behind.

We live in a political climate where the public has been invited to vote on
the 
legal status of gays and lesbians in numerous elections.  We must endure 
pervasive, unchecked hate rhetoric -- including that aired on local extremist

radio stations  -- that perpetuates myths and stereotypes of gay people.  We 
know that from 1992 to the end of last year -- the period when anti-gay
ballot 
measures exploded onto the scene and into national headlines -- 151 gay and 
lesbian people have been murdered nationwide just for who they were and whom 
they loved.  We must constantly battle for our safety and equality in our own

towns.  Attacks on gay, lesbian and bisexual people are intended as a
message:  Remain invisible.  Remain silent.  Remain in the closet.  We
refuse!

We will remain vigilant.  Our vigilance in Medford, and around the nation,
will ensure that victims of hate crimes will come forward.  We call on our
elected officials on the local, state and national levels to investigate the
correlation between hate rhetoric, hostile ballot campaigns and attacks on
all minorities: gays, lesbians, bisexuals, women, people of color, Jews, and
immigrants. 

We want our suspicions to be addressed and we need our concerns to be laid to

rest so we can move on in peace.  

The gay, lesbian, bisexual and human rights communities intend to stand proud
and active.  We do this in the spirit of Michelle and Roxanne who taught us
so much through their lives and work.  We are pleased to announce that we
want to join with the mayor of Medford in the creation of a Hate Free Zone.
 We invite all citizens to a January 4, 1996 Town Hall to create our action
plan.  We further invite concerned citizens to watch the broadcast of the
program, Not in Our Town, on Oregon Public Broadcasting
on December 17, 1995 at 10:30 p.m.

###

--
  ______   Tina M. Wood                     [email-masked]
  \    /   Cumberland, Rhode Island                   [email-masked]
   \  /    Homepage: http://drycas.club.cc.cmu.edu/~maire/home.html           
    \/     Queer Resources Directory: http://www.qrd.org/QRD/