Florida Agenda

Ryan Skipper: the inspiration behind the National Rainbow Memorial

It all started in March 2007 as I was watching the local news and heard of a young man who had been murdered for being gay. His name was Ryan Skipper, and he would later become the inspiration for the National Rainbow Memorial, not to mention a Gay American Hero.

At 25, Skipper was your everyday bighearted, handsome young guy living out of the cage of shame and fear in Polk County, Florida, which is located between Orlando and Tampa. It takes a lot of courage and strength to live as an LGBT person in an area where the presence of the KKK is prominent. It’s also home to a local sheriff who implied that Skipper got what he deserved because he was out looking for sex. To date, that sheriff has never apologized to Skipper’s family for his insensitive statements.

Skipper, who was openly gay, was attacked in his own car. His body was found on the side of a road, his throat slashed and as many as 20 stab wounds covered his torso. The two cowards who brutally murdered Skipper were convicted and are serving two life terms with no possibility of parole. Unfortunately, Skipper’s death is part of an alarming statistic: one LGBT person is murdered every nine days, and one gay bashing occurs every six hours in America.

Since his death, Skipper’s parents have started a PFLAG chapter in Polk County and are fighting hate on the frontlines. His brother is on the Gay American Heroes advisory board and has traveled to Washington, D.C. and met with President Barack Obama as part of a coalition to get a national hate crime law passed.

It’s time to show the world our heroes because our family and friends are being stolen from us because of hate. We will not live in fear, but rather face the ongoing violence against the LGBT community head on. We will be united in this fight for respect, dignity and protections under the law. It is through awareness, education and perseverance that we will prevail and honor the lives of all our Gay American Heroes.

Teach love, fight hate, save Lives and give Hope – The National Rainbow Memorial.

Michael Sandy – one of many Gay American Heroes of the National Rainbow Memorial. We must never forget the lives taken from us in our fight for our rights and freedoms as LGBT people in America. Memorials have long been a way to honor family and friends who have passed on, sometimes at the hands of others. Memorials start us on the road to healing and give comfort to us knowing that our loved ones will never be forgotten.

They also give life to those we’ve lost and create awareness for many who may not realize that these kinds of tragedies regularly occur. One gay murder every nine days – one gay bashing every six hours in America.

On Oct. 22, 2010, more than four years after the fatal beating of Sandy, 28, a bench and plaque were erected in his honor at Plumb Beach, the site of his murder in 2006. Relatives and city officials had been planning the dedication for months. A reminder of the horrific attack will have special meaning because of a string of recent attacks against gays. Sandy, of Williamsburg, New York, was lured to the secluded Plumb Beach spot by men he met online, who plotted to rob him. They attacked him, and when he tried to escape, they chased Sandy onto the Belt Parkway where he was hit by a car. He died two days later. Four men were jailed for hate crimes in the attack. Witnesses testified that one of the assailants rifled through Sandy’s pockets as he lay fatally wounded on the ground – and two of them later laughed over newspaper headlines describing the attack. “This is a young man who had a family that loved him, and loves him, and he’s gone now, for no reason at all, because people felt that because he was gay his life was worthless,” said City Councilman Lew Fidler (D-Sheepshead Bay), who sponsored the memorial. “The spate of anti-gay violence and hate crimes that we’ve had … makes it clear that we still have miles to go.”

The inscription on the memorial at Plumb Beach reads: In loving memory of Michael J. Sandy, Oct 12, 1977- Oct. 10, 2006, who died of injuries inflicted on him Oct. 8. This memorial is dedicated to Michael and all who have died at the hands of violence and hate crimes.

For more stories visit:

www.GayAmericanHeroes.com

The local community came out to show their support for the recent young people who have committed suicide due to being bullied in their schools and universities. “Be Brave … Be Strong … Be Yourself” was a rally and candlelight vigil held in the parking lot of the Shoppes of Wilton Manors. Wilton Manors is the most populous gay city in the state of Florida and third most populous in the nation. Speakers included State Representative Ari Porth, Wilton Manors Mayor Gary Resnick, former Wilton Manors City Commissioner Julie Carson, Safe Schools South Florida Executive Director Robert Loupo, Hotspots Publisher Peter Clark, New Moon owner Carol Moran and Gay American Heroes founder Scott Hall. Spiritual service led by Rabbi Noah Kitty of Congregation Etz Chaim. Participants were asked to wear the color purple, as part of a nationwide support of unity called “Spirit Day.”