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Gay
American
Heroes,
the
traveling
monument
that
memorializes
gay
men
and
women
who
have
been
killed
due
to
homophobic
violence,
is
scheduled
to
be
displayed
in
the
Florida
Capitol
Rotunda
April
28.
According
to
organizers,
the
exhibit
marks
the
first
time
a
gay-friendly
display
will
be
exhibited
inside
the
hall
that
overlooks
the
entrance
to
the
chambers
of
the
Florida
House
of
Representatives
and
Senate.
The
date
of
the
exhibit,
April
28,
also
marks
the
birthday
of
Ryan
Skipper,
a
gay
college
student
who
was
murdered
last
year
in
Polk
County,
Fla.,
in
what
police
described
as
an
anti-gay
hate
crime.
Skipper
would
have
turned
28
on
the
date
of
the
exhibit.
Equality
Florida
and
the
Gay
American
Heroes
Foundation
are
planning
the
Rotunda
exhibit
to
emphasize
the
need
for
the
safe
schools
legislation
that
prevents
school
bullying.
“We’re
doing
it
to
highlight
GLBT
victims
of
hate
crimes,”
said
Mallory
Wells,
a
lobbyist
for
Equality
Florida.
“We
want
to
shed
a
light
on
how
hate
crimes
are
tied
to
school
bullying.”
Wells
said
the
exhibit
represents
a
new
foothold
for
Florida’s
gay
rights
movement
in
the
notoriously
conservative
Florida
Legislature.
Among
the
advances,
she
said,
are
more
gay-friendly
bills
being
introduced
and
Equality
Florida’s
full-time
lobbying
effort
in
Tallahassee.
“[The
exhibit]
is
just
one
additional
thing
and
a
historic
year
for
GLBT
issues,”
Wells
said.
The
memorial
will
be
shown
while
gay-friendly
anti-bullying
and
civil
rights
bills
continue
to
wind
their
way
through
the
state
House
and
Senate.
The
Safe
Schools
Bill
is
expected
to
reach
the
House
floor
for
a
vote
this
week,
but
it
is
devoid
of
language
that
specifically
defines
anti-gay
violence
and
harassment
as
types
of
bullying,
which
gay
rights
groups
have
fought
to
include.
Meanwhile,
the
Senate
bill
that
would
include
sexual
orientation
as
a
protected
class
in
the
state
Civil
Rights
Act
could
be
heard
by
the
Senate’s
Community
Affairs
Committee,
but
it,
too,
falls
short
of
standards
that
gay
advocates
supported.
The
bill,
sponsored
by
Sen.
Ted
Deutch
(D.
Delray
Beach),
does
not
include
gender
identity
and
expression
as
a
protected
class,
like
a
similar
bill,
sponsored
by
Rep.
Kelly
Skidmore
(D.
Boca
Raton)
did
in
the
House.
The
fully
inclusive
Skidmore
bill
failed
to
get
a
hearing
in
a
House
committee.
Parents
to
speak
at
capitol
Representatives
of
Equality
Florida
and
the
Gay
American
Heroes
Foundation
will
be
in
the
Rotunda
talking
about
anti-gay
hate
crimes
and
passing
out
birthday
cake
in
honor
of
Skipper.
The
groups
will
also
organize
a
press
conference
that
will
feature
Skipper’s
parents,
Lynn
and
Patricia
Mulder.
Denise
King,
mother
of
Simmie
Williams,
a
gay
Fort
Lauderdale
teen
who
was
murdered
in
February,
may
also
participate.
Scott
Hall,
president
and
founder
of
the
Gay
American
Heroes
Foundation,
said
he
is
working
with
the
Safe
Schools
Coalition
and
Equality
Florida
to
arrange
a
meeting
between
Gov.
Charlie
Crist
and
the
Mulder
family
to
discuss
hate
crimes
and
school
bullying.
Presenting
the
exhibit
inside
the
Rotunda
represents
a
new
day
for
gay
politics
in
Florida,
Hall
said.
“It’s
historic,”
Hall
said.
“It
establishes
the
importance
of
the
project
and
reconfirms
the
need
for
us
to
be
proactive
in
the
state.”
The
monument
features
the
names,
pictures
and
stories
of
more
than
500
people
who
were
killed
in
homophobic
hate
crimes.
Recent
inductees
include
Lawrence
King,
the
15-year-old
who
was
shot
and
killed
in
school
in
California,
and
Simmie
Williams,
the
17-year-old
who
was
killed
on
Sistrunk
Boulevard
in
Fort
Lauderdale.
Hall
has
been
traveling
throughout
the
country
making
appearances
at
universities
and
at
events
to
educate
the
public
about
hate
crimes
and
to
raise
money
for
a
large-scale
permanent
memorial.
Lynn
Mulder
said
he
and
his
wife,
Skipper’s
mother,
Patricia,
are
excited
to
hear
that
the
display
will
be
held
on
Skipper’s
birthday.
The
event
was
originally
planned
for
April
21
but
had
to
be
moved.
“I
think
it
has
the
potential
to
be
very
powerful,”
Mulder
said.
He
said
he
wrote
to
Crist
and
to
Florida
Attorney
General
Bill
McCollum
requesting
a
meeting,
but
both
told
Mulder
their
schedules
were
full.
Still,
Mulder
said
he
hopes
to
be
able
to
tell
them
about
his
step
son,
Ryan.
“I
want
to
tell
them
that
Ryan
was
a
valuable
member
of
the
community
and
of
our
family,”
Mulder
said.
“And
the
way
that
he
was
murdered
was
not
fitting
to
his
character.”
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