GREELEY, Colo.—Gay rights groups calling for a federal hate-crimes law are hoping the trial of a man suspected of beating a transgender woman to death will draw attention to their cause.
The case is that of Allen Andrade, who is accused of beating 18-year-old Angie Zapata with a fire extinguisher after finding out she was biologically male. The trial begins Tuesday in Weld County.
Colorado’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center has launched a campaign to publicize the case, putting advertisements about the trial in 22 state newspapers. The group, which is pushing for a federal hate-crimes law, did not put advertisements in newspapers around the Greeley area to avoid tainting the jury pool.
Mindy Barton, the group’s legal director, said that not having a federal hate-crimes law sends the message that violence based on sexual orientation is OK.
Andrade faces a first-degree murder charge, which makes a sentence of life in prison mandatory if found guilty. The bias-motivated crime charge he also faces, would yield up to three years to his sentence if convicted.
Zapata’s case is the first time the murder of a transgender woman has been tried under the sexual orientation section of Colorado’s hate crime law. Colorado’s hate crime statutes were amended in 2005 to include sexual orientation. The state is one of 11 across the country that have such designations in their laws.
The Washington-based Human Rights Campaign also supports federal legislation for hate crimes. Allyson Robinson, the group’s associate director, told The Greeley Tribune that “hate violence” has widespread ramifications.
“It’s not just targeted at an individual, it’s meant to send a message beyond the victim … ‘You’re not welcome here. I do not validate your right to exist.’ These laws counter that by saying, ‘Yes, we do value every member of this community, particularly those who are especially vulnerable or targeted by the kind of violence.'”
But Dave Kopel, research director at the conservative Independence Institute, said hate-crime laws should not exist.
“Everyone deserves strong protection from crime regardless of sexual orientation or race or anything else,” he said.
Zapata’s was found dead in her apartment last July. Police say Andrade and Zapata met through MocoSpace, a social networking site. Andrade told police he received oral sex from Zapata, and that they spent the night together in separate beds.
Police say Andrade confronted Zapata about her sexuality the next day and became angry when he found out she was transgender.
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Information from: Greeley Daily Tribune,
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