Tag: Ryan Skipper

Ryan Skipper’s Family Endorses Obama

Jon Ponder

Lakeland, Fla., Ledger:

The Obama campaign has found a supporter in the family of Ryan Skipper, a 25-year-old gay man from Winter Haven who was killed last year in what authorities have ruled a hate crime.

Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama’s Web site pride.barackobama.com is dedicated solely to detailing the Illinois Democrat’s support of gay rights. In a campaign e-mail and blog posted on the Web site Thursday, Obama’s campaign referenced Skipper’s story and linked to a YouTube video recorded and posted online by Skipper’s brother, Damien Skipper.

In the video, Skipper describes his brother’s death as a tragedy that had additional weight because Ryan Skipper was gay.

“I know most of you watching this can understand how difficult it is to lose a loved one,” he says. “Now just take a moment to consider how difficult it would be to lose a loved one in the manner we lost Ryan. And then consider that Ryan was killed because of who he was. Ryan was killed because he was an openly gay man. That’s sickening.”

Skipper was found stabbed to death on the side of a Wahneta road March 15. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office called his slaying a hate crime after they said a witness told them the men charged in his killing did it because Skipper was gay…

Skipper recorded the video after campaign staffers contacted his family and asked them to share Ryan’s story in support of changes to federal hate crimes legislation.

In the video, Damien Skipper urges viewers to support the Matthew Shepard Act, proposed legislation that seeks to add sexual orientation and gender identity to existing federal hate crime laws which currently include only race, religion, ethnicity and nationality.

“We as a society have an opportunity to make a change. We have the opportunity to provide equality for the LGBT community,” Skipper says in the video.

“My family strongly supports Barack Obama in his campaign for the presidency due in large part to his support for the Matthew Shepard Act. Please join us.”

A Call for Sheriff Judd to Apologize for Smearing Hate Crime Victim, Ryan Skipper

Jon Ponder

Thought I’d pass along this letter to the editor of a local paper in Polk County, Fla., from a couple who’d recently seen the documentary, Accessory to Murder, about the death in the county a year ago last month of Ryan Skipper:
“We are calling for the public apology to both the community and his family by Sheriff Grady Judd for his derogatory comments toward the victim, which were proved to be totally untrue.”
— Letter to editor of Polk County paper

Published: Saturday, April 19, 2008
Sheriff Judd Should Apologize

Monday night we had the privilege of viewing [Accessory to Murder] the documentary of the brutal murder of Ryan Skipper.

We are calling for the public apology to both the community and his family by Sheriff Grady Judd for his derogatory comments toward the victim, which were proved to be totally untrue.

We expect him to be accountable for his homophobic statements.

[Names Were Published in Newspaper But Are Withheld Here]
Lakeland

As Trish (who was interviewed in the documentary), Buck and I dug into the hate-crime murder of Ryan Skipper last spring, the people we encountered in Polk County, Fla., were all intelligent, engaged and kind-hearted — this was especially so among Ryan’s family and friends.

However, these good folks appear to be overwhelmingly out-numbered by yahoos who support Sheriff Grady Judd, a Christian ideologue who loves media attention and who thought nothing of smearing Ryan, who was killed because he was gay, within hours of his murder.

Judd made news lately by releasing the infamous cheerleader beating video (and other evidence) to the world, and thus risking the outcome of the trial in the matter.

We’ve been waiting for over a year now for Grady Judd to apologize to Ryan’s family — or to be held accountable by his constituents for his callous and unprofessional statements. Maybe it will happen some day.

Cheerleader Beating on Tape: Polk County Sheriff is a Media Whore

Buck Banks

When I first heard the news reports about six high-school cheerleaders in Polk County, Florida, whupping up on a girl who posted insults about them on MySpace, it didn’t really surprise me. When I learned that they had videotaped the whole beating to post on MySpace, that didn’t surprise me, either. And when I learned that the video was never posted by the girls even though it is all over the InterWeb, I was puzzled.

But when I learned that the only reason the video was all over the place was because Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd had released it to the media, I wasn’t surprised a bit. See, the high sheriff of Polk County is a blabbermouthed media whore who gladly sacrifices due process and individuals’ legal rights on the altar of his ego.

Judd wasted no time going on a media tour to express his outrage at the brutality of the attack and the girls’ lack of remorse after their arrest:

“It’s absolutely an animalistic attack,” Sheriff Grady Judd said Tuesday on NBC’s Today. “They lured her into the home for express purpose of filming the attack and posting it on the Internet.”

But then, a judge imposed a gag order on the high sheriff of Polk County:
Responding to an emergency request by an attorney for one of the eight people arrested in the case, Circuit Judge J. Michael McCarthy said there was concern that further public discussions about the case could affect the suspects’ right to a fair trial.

In his request for the gag order, attorney James “Rusty” Franklin wrote that the Polk County Sheriff’s Office had “released a barrage of inflammatory, prejudicial information about this case” to the media, and Sheriff Grady Judd had characterized the suspects as having ” ‘animalistic behavior,’ a ‘pack mentality,’ ‘disgusting.’ “

Well, predictably, that just pissed off Judd, who released the following statement:

I have the highest respect for the court and highest personal respect for Judge Michael McCarthy. He is my friend. I do, however, respectfully disagree with the court’s ruling to prohibit me, as an independent constitutional officer, to speak freely and inform the public regarding this case or any case.

This isn’t the first case where Judd’s media whoring has jeopardized a victim’s getting justice. In March 2007, Ryan Skipper was brutally murdered in Polk County by a couple of repeat offenders and likely meth addicts, and Sheriff Grady Judd was there as judge, jury and spokesman for justice as he tried Skipper in the court of public opinion. Trish broke the story on Pensito Review last March, and we covered it extensively.

In a nutshell, Sheriff Grady Judd alleged that 24-year-old Ryan Skipper was out cruising for gay sex when he hooked up with the two thugs who were so repelled by Skipper’s gay advances that they stabbed him more than 20 times, slit his throat, left his body on the side of the road and stole his car.

Now to me that sounds about as brutal and animalistic as it gets — much more so than a couple of teenage girls having a dust-up over some insults on MySpace. But there is a similarity between the two cases. Judd saw an opportunity to mouth off to the media about aspects of the cases before either investigation was completed. In one case he released evidence — videotape — to the media that should have been preserved for the trials. In the other, Judd assassinated the character of a young gay college student based on what his killers said.

But Sheriff Judd’s brand of law in Polk County can itself be brutal. When the sheriff’s SWAT team caught up with a man suspected of killing a policeman and his dog the day before, they fired 110 rounds of ammunition, hitting the suspect 68 times. Judd’s comment at the time:

“I suspect the only reason 110 rounds was all that was fired was that’s all the ammunition they had,” Judd said.

Nice sound bite, Sheriff Grady!

Hate Crime Murder Victim Ryan Skipper’s Parents Are Asking Questions

Trish

The parents of Ryan Skipper, a Central Florida man stabbed to death and dumped on the side of the road earlier this year because he was gay, have a question for the Republicans running for president. Will you take responsibility for the hate and savagery your party has used to manipulate its base into condemning and attacking gays? Will you stop twisting religious tenets into a battle cry? Do you understand your rhetoric fuels ignorance and fear and violence? Do you realize there is blood on your hands?

Ryan’s mom and stepdad recorded this video for the town hall meetings where candidates answer questions from the public. Knowing how Republicans operate, this might be the most light of day this submission ever sees. Pass it along to your friends and to anyone who says homophobia is no big deal.

Ryan Skipper’s Death Inspires New Awareness of Hate Crimes

Trish

It’s been a long time since we had any news about the murder of Ryan Skipper, a gay Florida man who police believe was the victim of a hate crime.

In that time, another man was slain because his murderer wanted to kill a gay man — any gay man. In both deaths, investigators immediately arrested and held suspects, awaiting trials that might still be a year or more away. And while we — and especially the friends and families — wait there is silence.

At least there was. A new organization, inspired by Ryan’s brutal killing, is trying to raise awareness of the consequences of mindless hate. Gay American Heroes seeks:

To honor and remember LGBT victims of hate crimes
To engage and inform the public about hate crimes against LGBT persons
To inspire compassion and greater appreciation and acceptance of diversity

The group is putting together a traveling memorial for display at colleges, gay pride events, and other public venues including communities where hate crimes have occurred or been threatened. The exhibit will honor lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people who were murdered because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

[…]

Another Man Killed for Being Gay; Murderer Says He Was Serving God

Trish

We wish Ryan Skipper’s death were the last one we ever had to hear happened because someone was so threatened by the idea of homosexuality that they killed. But it wasn’t.

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.”

A Texas man said he was doing God’s work when he randomly targeted and brutally murdered a 46-year-old Southwest Airlines flight attendant named Kenneth Cummings Jr. earlier this summer.

Terry Mark Mangum, 26, told [Brazoria County newspaper] The Facts in a jailhouse interview Friday that he had targeted and killed Cummings because he was homosexual and that he stabbed him in the head. He called his actions “God’s justice.”

…Mangum told The Facts he went to a known gay bar in Houston that night to specifically target a homosexual and said that Cummings, “just happened to be the one that I bumped into.”

…After 600 volunteers spent several days searching through high weeds, dense brush, dump sites and even an abandoned golf course, a bone was found in a dried-up pond. Searchers originally thought the bone belonged to a cow, but after looking at it again, searchers dug around it and found charcoal, Miller said. As they dug deeper, they found a burned body that later was confirmed to be Cummings, Miller said.

The murderer in this case was obviously not only hate-filled but deranged.

“I believe I’m Elijah, called by God to be a prophet,” said 26-year-old Terry Mark Mangum, charged with murder June 11. “…I believe with all my heart that I was doing the right thing.”

[…]

Hate Crime Victim Ryan Skipper’s Rep, Tom Feeney: No Need for Hate Crime Bill

Trish
Let the party begin! Rep. Tom Feeney rings the bell opening the American Stock Exchange.

This just in from Vicki Nantz, an independent film maker planning a documentary on Ryan Skipper, whose March murder in Central Florida is being investigated as a hate crime.

I recently wrote U.S. House Representative, Tom Feeney, Republican of Central Florida, and asked him why he does not support federal hate crime legislation that includes the gay and lesbian community. Why are acts of brutality, physical assaults and murder, which are meant to intimidate and terrorize the LGBT community, not included in our current, or likely-to-be-passed federal hate crime laws – the legislation that President Bush has promised to veto. I received written correspondence yesterday from Feeney that included the following:

…”I do not support specialized punishment for particular mentalities. This idea singles out groups for special treatment…When someone is murdered because the killer does not like the color of their skin, that killer deserves harsh punishment; but the killer deserves it because the victim is a human, not because of the killer’s hateful thoughts…Justice ultimately ought to be based on the fundamental worth of a human being and not the thoughts of the specific criminal…I hope in the near future crime legislation can be voted on that protects all equally and punishes the offender for the crime committed and not the thoughts in his mind.”

And yet Feeney and the other overwhelmingly Republican, antigay hypocrites like him have voted in support of federal legislation that does punish people for the thoughts in their minds. The following is part of the U.S. Code, federal law currently being followed in this country:

TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 113B

CHAPTER 113B—TERRORISM

(1) the term “international terrorism” means activities that—

(A) involve violent acts or acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State, or that would be a criminal violation if committed within the jurisdiction of the United States or of any State;

(B) appear to be intended—

(i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;

(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or

(iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and…

(5) the term “domestic terrorism” means activities that—

(A) involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State;

(B) appear to be intended—

(i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;

(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or

(iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping…

Clearly, hypocritical Representative Feeney, President Bush and the American religious extremists who decry inclusive hate crime legislation as being “thought crime” legislation reveal much behind their own selective, hate-filled thoughts. It is that same base thinking that led to the murders of Matthew Shephard and Ryan Skipper, and the dozens more LGBT murders and innumerable of acts of brutal violence that most people have never bothered to know about.

Use your voice. Use your votes.

Thanks Vicki. We agree with everything you said and find it particularly upsetting that Ryan’s own representatives, and those of his family and friends, can’t see the need for hate crime legislation.

But Tom Feeney’s words mean nothing. Feeney was among a group of fellow members of Congress investigated by the FBI because they were known by jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff to be for sale.

Feeney, former speaker of the Florida House, is one of three men who were U.S. House members when they accompanied Abramoff to Scotland on trips that included rounds of golf at the legendary Royal & Ancient Golf Club at St. Andrews.

The others: former Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, who is serving prison time for corruption related to his Abramoff relationship, and former House Republican leader Tom DeLay, who was indicted in an unrelated Texas fundraising case and is under investigation in the Abramoff case.

Events This Weekend Celebrate Ryan Skipper’s Birthday

Jon Ponder

There are two events this weekend to commemorate Ryan Skipper’s birthday — a memorial today in Atlanta, and a fundraiser tomorrow in Auburndale, Fla., for the Ryan Keith Skipper Foundation.

Memorial in Atlanta

Note: Check Georgia Equality website for last minute schedule changes.

Saturday, April 28, 2007

1:00pm

First Metropolitan Community Church

1379 Tullie Road NE

Atlanta, GA 30329

404-325-4143

For more information on attending Ryan’s vigil and other ways you can help please contact Melinda Morgan by email or at (404) 327-9898.

The RSK Foundation Fundraiser

Source: The Lakeland Ledger:

A fundraiser for the Ryan Keith Skipper Foundation will be Sunday at the Auburndale Civic Center. Admission is $10 for the benefit, at 115 W. Park St. in Auburndale.

At 3 p.m. Sunday, Harmonious Universe, an artists’ group that promotes peace and unity through artwork, will be on hand with blank canvases that can be painted by visitors in Skipper’s memory.

Canvas painting is free, and a silent auction and entertainment will begin at 7:30 p.m.

All money raised from the auction, food and drink will go toward the foundation, whose mission statement is to educate and promote the acceptance of diversity. Skipper was gay.

Skipper was found stabbed to death March 14. His killing has been classified as a hate crime.

Ryan would have been 26 today.

Ryan Skipper Foundation Fundraiser April 29 in Auburndale, Fla.

Jon Ponder

The newly formed Ryan Skipper Foundation is holding a silent auction fundraiser on Sunday, April 29, at the Auburndale Civic Center at 119 West Park St. in Auburndale, Florida.

Activities include a mural painting at 3:00 p.m., with Harmonious Universe, and entertainment and the auction at 7:30 p.m. Performers will include Katherine Novots, Amy De Milo, Stephanie Shippae, Summer and more.

Entry is a $10.00 donation that will go to a scholarship fund in in Ryan’s memory at Traviss Career Center.

Memorial for Ryan Skipper in Atlanta, Sat. April 28

Jon Ponder

Saturday would have been Ryan Skipper’s 26th birthday. His family and friends are holding a memorial in Atlanta:

Saturday, April 28, 2007

1:00pm

First Metropolitan Community Church

1379 Tullie Road NE

Atlanta, GA 30329

404-325-4143

For more information on attending Ryan’s vigil and other ways you can help please contact Melinda Morgan by email or at (404) 327-9898.

Ryan Skipper was viciously murdered on March 14, 2007. Two men, including one who had known Ryan for about six months, were arrested and charged with the murder as a hate crime.

Update: Check the Georgia Equality website for the latest info.