Breaking News: Zapata Gets Justice and 17-Year-Olds Get Plan B
Allen Ray Andrade found guilty of the murder of Angie Zapata!
Plan B now available to 17-year-olds!
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Double yay!
I'm in Australia, and anyone can buy the morning after pill here, as long as you tell the pharmacist all about the event. Ew.
And thank goodness people are starting to realise that you can't blame any victim for a crime perpetrated against them, especially when purely based on who they are.
Good news and bad news, I suppose. Good in that Angie's murderer was convicted soundly, but being glad of a murderer's conviction is cold, cold comfort for the death. But I am glad that the jury, in a notably conservative-leaning county no less, wasn't fooled by the "trans-panic" B.S. for an instant.
Good that Plan B will now be more available to 17-year-olds - now if only there were good access across the board...
I'm also happy about the conviction of Angie Zapata's murderer. (Or, at least as happy as one can be about something like this.)
Sadly, the evidence in the case (that Andrade knew Angie was a trans woman at least 36 hours before he killed her) and the fact that the jury only deliberated 2 hours before handing down a guilty verdict says more about the the strength of the prosecution's case than it does about a lack of bias among the jury members.
While I hate to sound negative while most people are happy about getting "justice for Angie", I have to say that I find the lack of media coverage about this case extremely disturbing. I'm aware that the media will cover stories about white women much more often than even murder cases about POC, but this case is groundbreaking. It's the first time a crime against a transgender person has been tried as a hate crime, yet there is very little about the trial in the major news outlets. Apparently the bias against anyone who is not white, het, and cisgender is worse than I realized.
What makes it even worse, IMO, is that that the often-used "trans panic" defense relies on ignorance and bigotry. By not spotlighting this case, the media missed an opportunity to start educating people about transgender issues in general, and specifically about the dangers trans men and women face every day.
That said, though, I'm very glad that Andrade is never going to be free again, and I hope that brings at least a tiny bit of comfort to Angie's family.
All very true. There's such an urge, I think, to find something good amidst so much that's horrible - but there's so, so, so little to be found among it all.
That said, though, I'm very glad that Andrade is never going to be free again, and I hope that brings at least a tiny bit of comfort to Angie's family.
My thoughts exactly.
I've seen this case on CNN.com's front page every day for the past several days. They posted the verdict live and had breaking news alerts flashing on the screen. That's how I found out about it right as it happened. I've actually been really surprized by the amount of coverage. Maybe other major media outlets have been bad about it though, I'm not sure about that.
Given that he knew for 36 hours, did the prosecution give a comprehensible reason for why he killed her? Was it still supposed to be because she was transgender or was it something else?
I'm also happy about the conviction of Angie Zapata's murderer. (Or, at least as happy as one can be about something like this.)
Sadly, the evidence in the case (that Andrade knew Angie was a trans woman at least 36 hours before he killed her) and the fact that the jury only deliberated 2 hours before handing down a guilty verdict says more about the the strength of the prosecution's case than it does about a lack of bias among the jury members.
While I hate to sound negative while most people are happy about getting "justice for Angie", I have to say that I find the lack of media coverage about this case extremely disturbing. I'm aware that the media will cover stories about white women much more often than even murder cases about POC, but this case is groundbreaking. It's the first time a crime against a transgender person has been tried as a hate crime, yet there is very little about the trial in the major news outlets. Apparently the bias against anyone who is not white, het, and cisgender is worse than I realized.
What makes it even worse, IMO, is that that the often-used "trans panic" defense relies on ignorance and bigotry. By not spotlighting this case, the media missed an opportunity to start educating people about transgender issues in general, and specifically about the dangers trans men and women face every day.
That said, though, I'm very glad that Andrade is never going to be free again, and I hope that brings at least a tiny bit of comfort to Angie's family.
Um, sorry about the double post. I don't know how it happened.
"Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America, a conservative advocacy organization, said the agency’s decision was driven by politics and a mistaken judicial decision. “Parents should be furious at the F.D.A.’s complete disregard for parental rights and the safety of minors,” Ms. Wright said."
Exactly what I was thinking! Parents should be furious about the disregard for the safety of minors *prior* to this change!
Agreed! Wright's comment disproves her point. With more women able to get Plan B...they will be safer from pregnancy! This also feeds right into providing comprehensive sex ed, to make minors safer so they know about safe sex and contraceptives.
I made the mistake of visiting the website for the paper from my old hometown (Colorado Springs... yup). There's a discussion going on there about the Andrade case that's making my head hurt. Makes me realize how fortunate I am 1) to have moved to a far more progressive (though far from perfect) community and 2) to have online communities like feministing where you don't have to explain ad nauseum extremely basic concepts like the difference between biological sex and gender.
May Andrade have a long, miserable life behind bars.
RIP Angie.
And good point about minors' safe, asthenia1.
While it will never heal the wounds left by Ms. Zapata's murder, at the very least that bigoted murdering piece of scum won't walk free to brutally murder other trans women, and this case is groundbreaking. That's a very good thing.
I'm glad he's going to be behind bars. :-) I was really relieved when I saw the verdict. I was scared the jury was going to think the "trans panic" crap was a decent defence but thankfully they didn't.
That's good about the plan b too. I think it should be available for 14+ but 17 is a good start.
Agh! Right as I'm about to turn 18, too! In a month, that is. Well, that's good for other 17 year old girls. I had to depend on my older boyfriend to buy Plan B for me when I needed it a few months back, and that made me feel young/dependent on him, which is something that I am not.
I agree with you and jjgirl23 about the age/availability issue. I wouldn't have even known someone else could pick Plan B up for me, even though it is non-prescription! Teenagers can be sexually ignorant, even when they try to be educated abouth the subject. I know I was.
From the time I begin considering have sex, I started soaking up information from anywhere I could sneakily get it! (That's right, I just invented the word "sneakily"). 6 years later, I am still learning! My boyfriend wouldn't have been old enough to get it for me when we started having sex anyway though, and I don't know who could've otherwise...
So as happy as I am about these two pieces of news (especially the most amount of justice we could have hoped for for Angie, short of turning back time and eradicating transphobia), I feel like the framing of this is exactly what led to the boycott of this site led by many in the trans rights movement. Your headline would seem to imply that reproductive privileges being extended to 17-year-olds is equally as exciting as a transphobic murderer getting his just deserts. I'm sure many people are going to feel a bit uncomfortable by that, no matter how it was meant.
I thought the same thing. I know it was meant to be just a quick note, but I wish they had been separate posts. Since one of the serious concerns people have had was that about comments on trans related issues have been overwhelmed by irrelevant conversations, I think putting these two topics in the same headline is a step in the wrong direction.
co-signed
I'm so relieved about the verdict but still so sad that this case ever had to happen, and that defense lawyers are still willing to spew such hatred.
Also in the news today: Connecticut lege votes this morning to revise state marriage laws to allow gay marriage!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090423/ap_on_re_us/us_gay_marriage_connecticut
Four states down, 46 to go.
I am so,so relieved at the verdict. The trans-panic defense failed. Twelve Coloradans believe that a trans woman's life is a life, worthy of the full protection of the law.
I have some thoughts on why Andrade killed Zapata: in short, externalized self-hate.