Rod 2.0:Beta

News: Pope, Simmie Williams, Lawrence King, Mario Lopez

More than 13,000 people crowd the South Lawn of the White House to greet Pope Benedict XVI and sing happy birthday. Across the street in Lafayette Square, the "papal visit drew a protest of about 200. With one demonstrator dressed as the pope, the crowd held signs criticizing celibacy and a large banner reading '100,000 sexually abused kids in the US.' "

· The protests come one day after the pontiff said he was "deeply ashamed" of the massive clergy sex abuse scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church and will work to make sure pedophiles don't become priests.

· Uber-hottie Mario Lopez on Towleroad TV: I'm proud to be a gay icon.

· Bush outlines vague "proposal" to reduce growth of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. Associated Press: The President "appears, in the view of congressional Democrats and environmentalists, as increasingly irrelevant in the climate debate both on the domestic and international stage."

· The reward is now $5,000 in the case of Simmie Williams, the 17-year-old black gay teen gunned down almost two months ago while dressed like a woman in a part of Fort Lauderdale known for transvestite prostitution. Police say "it appeared that Williams had been arguing with two men, both dressed in black. People nearby heard gunshots and saw the men run off."

· Across the country in California, more developments in the prosecution of the horrific murder of 15-year-old Lawrence King. "A coalition of 27 LGBT rights groups is calling on prosecutors to try 14-year-old Brandon McInerney in juvenile court, not as an adult." McInerney is charged with hate-crime and firearm-use enhancements in the the Feb. 12 fatal shooting.

News: Simmie Williams, Bill Richardson, Tyra Banks, Darfur

· Still no suspects after the murder of Simmie Williams Jr, the 17-year-old killed last month in Florida after an altercation with two men men who made anti-gay remarks. "That Fort Lauderdale's mayor hasn't said anything about [the] incident isn't surprising, since he still seems more passionately obsessed with men's rooms than Larry "Wide Stance" Craig," notes an op-ed in the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel.

· Tyra Banks looking to leave America's Next Top Model? "Banks is feuding with photo-shoot creative director Jay Manuel to such an extent that the two don't even speak. OK also reports that Banks barely hangs out with the contestants and shows up only on judging days."

· Little Rock mega-church unveils 30 minute "sitcom-length Sunday worship service."

· American Airlines cancels 300 flights to "perform maintenance checks on its fleet of MD-80 aircraft [and] might have to cancel additional flights Thursday.

· Survey: "87 percent of Americans believe in the concept of 'sin' and most say racism is considered a sin," explains Frank Lockwood at Bible Belt Blogger. "Republicans are more likely than Democrats to call racism a sin. Conservatives are more likely than liberals. And Southerners are more likely than Northerners to label racism as “sin.” Part of the reason for the gap? Republicans, conservatives and Southerners are more likely to believe in the concept of sin overall."

· Fox News debates the significance of Gov. Bill Richardson's new facial hair. One "Democratic" strategist says the New Mexico governor  wants to feel more "macho" because "after Al Gore lost his election, he also grew a beard. And I think it has to do with being sort of macho and wanting to feel like a man after you've lost something."

· Three relief workers with the United Nations World Food Program are "killed by bandits in separate attacks over the past week in Sudan's war-stricken western Darfur. ... The attacks highlight the security dangers in Sudan, where the world's biggest humanitarian operation is trying to cope with the crisis in Darfur while aid agencies are trying to help the south rebuild after decades of civil war."

Two Florida Mothers Are United By Slain Black Gay Sons

Detectives in Fort Lauderdale continue to search for suspects in the death of Simmie Williams Jr, the 17-year-old black gay teenager who was gunned down by two unknown men, possibly because he was wearing a dress at the time. The case becomes more tragic as news surfaces that five years ago, another young black gay man wearing a dress was shot on the same stretch of road—and he was the son of a family friend.

"I can't believe it happened again," says Veta Calloway, the mother of Timothy Broadus. The  22-year-old was shot dead on Jan. 8, 2003. Simmie Williams Jr. was shot dead on Feb. 22, 2008.

According to the Sun-Sentinel:

"She tries to comfort Williams' mother, Denise King, 38, whom she met around the time Broadus was killed. Both families lived in the same Hollywood apartments at the time, and King dated Broadus' brother.

Williams was just 12 when Broadus died, and the two young men never met, the mothers said."

The Williams and Broadus cases remain unsolved and police do not believe this is the work of the same killer, "although there were similarities. Both victims identified themselves as gay and sometimes dressed as women, and they were both shot by killers who may have made anti-gay slurs."

Several readers have commented that they're disappointed the Williams murder is not receiving the broader, national exposure of the Lawrence King case. The motives and circumstances are not similar. It goes without saying that young black gay men killed while in drag, and, most likely working as prostitutes, are never magnets for public sympathy. That's why it's promising the Sun-Sentinel and the Fort Lauderdale Police Department are working so hard to bring attention to the Williams case.

Years Later, Mothers Shed Tears for Slain Sons [Sun-Sent]

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Vigil for Simmie Williams [R20]
Black Gay Teen Shot Dead in Fort Lauderdale [R20]
Rashawn Brazell: A Memorial [R20]
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Shooting at Chicago House a "Tragedy" [Advocate]
Person of Interest Sought in Chgo Shootings [Advocate]
Crime Against the Gay House [Advocate-PDF]
Chicago Mother Suspects Gay Son Was Killed After Online Hookup [R20]

Vigil for Simmie Williams, Black Gay Teen Killed in Fort Lauderdale

One week after the murder of a 17-year-old black gay teenager, family, friends and members of the Fort Lauderdale gay community hold a vigil to remember the young man who was possibly gunned down because he was wearing a dress at the time.

More than 100 mourners remembered Simmie Williams Jr. on the 1000 block of Sistrunk Boulevard, the same corner where he was gunned down by two young men exactly one week ago. "We just want to know why someone would do that to him when he was a very quiet person, and he never talked to anybody," Shannon Terry tells WSVN-TV. Video.

Williams' mom, Denise King, seen next to Matt Foreman of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in video by the Sun-Sentinel, stood "silently with a picture of her son in one hand and a bouquet of flowers in the other. A tear ran down her right cheek as activists began to speak." Ms. King does not speak with reporters. How can she? The moment is too painful.

It's worth noting the mayor of Fort Lauderdale is a rabidly vocal critic of the gays. Last summer Mayor Jim Naugle mounted a ridiculous crusade to install automated public toilets to deter public restroom sex on the beaches—except police never arrested anyone for having sex in restrooms. The Bible-beating and anti-gay homo hysteria create an atmosphere where anti-gay violence is deemed acceptable.

There is a $10,000 reward for arrests in the Williams case and police "suspect the two unknown men shot and killed the 17-year-old possibly because of the fact he had donned women's clothing and was openly gay." You don't say ...

Vigil Held for Openly Gay Teen [WSVN-TV + Video]
Vigil for Slain Teen [Sun-Sentinel + Video]
Images of Beach Sex Vex Mayor [Pam Spaulding]

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Black Gay Teen Shot Dead in Fort Lauderdale [R20]
Rashawn Brazell: A Memorial [R20]
Six Months [R20]
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News: "Person of Interest" Sought in Chicago [R20]
Rod 2.0 Exclusive: Personal Feud Led to Shootings [R20]
6 Gay Black Men Shot at Chicago Party [R20]
Crime Against the "Gay House" [R20]
Remembering the Chicago Victims [R20]
Shooting at Chicago House a "Tragedy" [Advocate]
Person of Interest Sought in Chgo Shootings [Advocate]
Crime Against the Gay House [Advocate-PDF]
Chicago Mother Suspects Gay Son Was Killed After Online Hookup [R20]

Black Gay Teen Shot Dead in Fort Lauderdale, Possible Hate Crime

Almost two weeks after the shocking death of Lawrence King in his California classroom, a gay black teen has been shot dead in South Florida. Police in Fort Lauderdale say 17-year-old Simmie Williams Jr. was dressed in women's clothing and his death is being investigated as a possible bias crime.

"We're looking into the possibility of a hate crime," Sgt. Kathy Collins with the Fort Lauderdale Police tells News 10. "There were some words exchanged prior to the shooting ... Witnesses said he was in a verbal argument with two men and then they heard several shots being fired and the men took off running."

Detectives say Williams was wearing a dress and at the corner of 10th Avenue and Sistrunk Boulevard at around 12:45 a.m. Friday. It is unclear what he was doing in the area. The vicinity is frequented by transgender prostitutes.

Williams' mother tells the Sun-Sentinnel she knew her son was openly gay, but, did not know her son wore women's clothes or what he did after dark. "I gave him $2 for the bus and he never came back," says Denise King, who lived with her son west of Fort Lauderdale. "He was a quiet person, kept to himself. He had a lot of friends. He wasn't a troubled child. He was a happy person."

The distraught mom also says her son "planned to get his GED":and then go to culinary school. "That's what he really wanted to do. That's all he talked about," says King. "He spent the whole day with me yesterday, played with his nephew and cooked dinner."

Although the Lawrence King murder is making national headlines and the community is pulling together, there probably will not be a stampede in Fort Lauderdale to apprehend the men who killed Simmie Williams. Authorities are historically slow to solve murders of black gay young men—a la Rashawn Brazell—and "being black, gay and dressing in women's clothing made Williams 'a minority within a minority within a minority,' says Grant Lynn Ford, dean of Sunshine Cathedral in Fort Lauderdale, a congregation that ministers to gays, lesbians and their families.

Gay Teen Shot Dead While Dressed as Woman [SS]
Police: Cross Dresser Shot, Killed  [News 10]

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Crime Against the "Gay House" [R20]
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Shooting at Chicago House a "Tragedy" [Advocate]
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Crime Against the Gay House [Advocate-PDF]
Chicago Mother Suspects Gay Son Was Killed After Online Hookup [R20]