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LGBTQ in Puerto Rico

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Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) people in Puerto Rico have gained some legal rights in recent years. Same sex relationships have been legal in Puerto Rico since 2003, and same-sex marriage and adoptions are also permitted. U.S. federal hate crime laws apply in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the north-eastern Caribbean Sea.

Violence against the LGBT community

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In recent years, numerous LGBT people have been murdered with some laying the blame for these acts on politicians and on the religious community.[1]

The dismembered body of 19-year-old college student Jorge Steven López Mercado was discovered 14 November 2009 in Cayey, a city located in the island's interior region. López was widely known as a volunteer for organizations advocating gay rights and HIV prevention, and activists planned remembrance vigils for him in cities including San Juan, Chicago, and New York. According to local police, it is under investigation as a possible hate crime, under the newly approved U.S. Federal hate crimes law which includes crimes against people who are (or perceived to be) gay or transgender people. Juan A. Martinez Matos was arrested a few days after López Mercado's body was discovered.[2] On 12 May 2010, Martinez Matos pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 99 years in prison for the murder of López Mercado.[3]

On 19 April 2010, the body of Ashley Santiago, a transgender woman who resided in the town of Corozal was discovered in the kitchen of her home. Santiago, a stylist at a local salon, was found naked on the floor and was stabbed 14 times by an unknown assailant.[4]

On 13 September 2010, the bodies of Justo Luis "Michelle" Gonzalez and Miguel Orlando "La Flaca" Soto, two transsexuals were found murdered along a road in the small town of Juana Diaz.[5] With these two deaths, LGBT activists on the island have stated that nine gay and transgender people have been killed over the last 10 months on the island, and local authorities have not adequately responded to these crimes.[6] In October 2012, Malena Suarez, a transgender woman living in Carolina, was found dead at her home as a result of multiple stabbings. Her death marked the 30th anti-LGBT homicide in Puerto Rico in a decade.[7]

In February 2020, Alexa Negrón Luciano, a homeless trans woman was shot to death in a murder filmed by the perpetrators. The victim previously was misgendered at a restaurant by customers that falsely accused her of attempting to take photos of other women, resulting in the arrival of police.[8] The murder of Alexa highlighted the discrimination and violence transgender people face on the island.[9][10] A year after her murder authorities had still not solved the case.[11][12] The murder of Michelle Ramos Vargas in September of that same year marked the sixth killing of a transgender person.[13][14] From 2019 - 2021, at least twelve transgender people had been murdered in Puerto Rico.[15]

History of the LGBTQ movement

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Gay Pride Festival in Boquerón in 2013

In 1973 the Comunidad de Orgullo Gay (the Gay Pride Community) was the first gay rights organization in Puerto Rico. In 1991, the Coalición Puertorriqueña de Lesbianas y Homosexuales (the Puerto Rican Lesbian and Gay Coalition) was also formed.[16] That same year, one of the first LGBT pride parades was organized in Puerto Rico, and subsequent events occur each year in San Juan and Cabo Rojo.[17]

Between the 1990s and 2008, various LGBT community groups arose, as there was more public discussion about sexual orientation, gender identity, human rights and the HIV-AIDS pandemic. Today, there are numerous Puerto Rican LGBT rights organizations and nightclubs, with most of the LGBTQ organizations based in and around San Juan, Cabo Rojo, and Vieques.[18]

On 6 November 2012, Popular Democratic Party candidate Pedro Peters Maldonado became the first openly gay politician elected to public office in the island's history, when he won a seat in San Juan's city council.[19]

Justin Santiago, a Puerto Rican trans man from Barranquitas was the first person in Puerto Rico who changed his name and gender on his birth certificate, and live as a trans man. In his youth, Santiago had been forced to attend conversion therapy sessions, a pseudoscientific practice that aims to change the ideas of LGBT people. Afterwards, Santiago advocated for the conversion therapy ban which was signed into law by Ricardo Rosselló in 2019.[20][21]

Loverbar was a queer bar, restaurant and nightclub located in Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico that opened in 2020[22] and closed the following year.[23][24] As a queer club it was the first of its kind in Puerto Rico,[25][26] with Refinery29 calling it "the queer destination for everything exciting, progressive, and radical about the Puerto Rican queer scene."[25]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Rothaus, Steve (21 June 2011). "Deadly assaults target gay and transgender people in Puerto Rico - Americas - MiamiHerald.com". Miami Herald. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  2. ^ Suspect charged with murder in slaying of gay teen in Puerto Rico from CNN 18 November 2009
  3. ^ Man jailed for 99 years for murder of Puerto Rican gay student from PinkNews 13 May 2010
  4. ^ Transgender woman stabbed to death in Puerto Rico home from www.edgeboston.com 20 April 2010
  5. ^ Puerto Rican Authorities Accused of Tolerating Homophobia from the Latin American Herald Tribune 23 September 2010
  6. ^ 2 men in women's clothing slain in Puerto Rico, activists demand hate crime investigation[dead link‍] from the Associated Press 13 September 2010
  7. ^ Transgender murder 30th anti-LGBTQ homicide in Puerto Rico in decade from the Windy City Times 23 October 2012
  8. ^ ""Mira, la loca": la conmoción en Puerto Rico por el asesinato de Alexa, la transgénero sin hogar que fue baleada en un "crimen de odio"". BBC News Mundo (in Spanish). 28 February 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  9. ^ "El brutal asesinato de una mujer transgénero conmociona a Puerto Rico y renueva una conversación sobre la transfobia". CNN. 2 March 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Mujeres trans: "Todos los días nos matan con el estigma y los estereotipos" [Trans women: Every day we are killed with stigma and stereotypes]. Primera Hora (Puerto Rico) (in Spanish). 9 February 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  11. ^ "Exigen justicia a un año del asesinato de Alexa" [Demands for justice a year after the murder of Alexa]. Primera Hora (Puerto Rico) (in Spanish). 24 February 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  12. ^ "Autoridades tienen identificadas "personas de interés" por el asesinato de Alexa". El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). 23 February 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  13. ^ "Identifican el cuerpo de la mujer transgénero hallado hoy con múltiples impactos de bala en San Germán" [They identify body of trans woman found with multiple gun shot wounds in San Germán]. El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). 30 September 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  14. ^ "Trans person shot in Puerto Rico in 6th killing this year". AP NEWS. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  15. ^ "US hits record for transgender killings. Puerto Rico is the epicenter of the violence". USA TODAY. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  16. ^ The International Encyclopedia of Sexuality: Puerto Rico
  17. ^ Pride in Puerto Rico
  18. ^ Groffman, Adam (16 April 2019). "Gay Puerto Rico Guide". Travels of Adam. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  19. ^ Homosexual gana por primera vez unas elecciones en la Isla Archived 1 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine from El Nuevo Dia 7 November 2012
  20. ^ "'Don't hurt your children': A history-making trans man warns against conversion therapy". Yahoo. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  21. ^ León, Concepción de (27 March 2019). "Governor of Puerto Rico Signs Executive Order Banning 'Conversion Therapy' for Minors". The New York Times.
  22. ^ Alfaro Pérez, Luis D. (16 November 2020). "Comunidad LGBTQIA+ encuentra en Loverbar un refugio contra el discrimen" [LGBTQIA + Community Finds in Loverbar a Refuge Against Discrimination]. Pulso Estudiantil (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  23. ^ "Luego nos explicamos mejor" [We'll explain ourselves better later.]. Facebook (in Spanish). 8 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  24. ^ "Luego nos explicamos mejor" [We'll explain ourselves better later.]. Instagram (in Spanish). 8 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  25. ^ a b Viera, Mercedes (15 September 2021). "Loverbar Was A Safe Space For Queer Puerto Ricans; That's Exactly Why It Got Raided". Refinery29. Vice Media. Archived from the original on 16 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  26. ^ Richner, Alfredo (24 June 2017). "LOVERBAR: Ayuda a crear el primer "queer club" de Río Piedras" [LOVERBAR: Help Create the First “Queer Club” in Río Piedras]. Puerto Rico Indie (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
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