A Show of Solidarity in Puerto Rico
Five New York City Council members travel to San Juan in wake of brutal anti-gay murder
Published: Thursday, January 21, 2010 1:22 PM CST
BY PAUL SCHINDLER
http://www.gaycitynews.com/articles/2010/01/21/gay_city_news/news/doc4b58a12e91eda292487415.txtTwo months after Jorge Steven López Mercado, a 19-year-old gay activist and college student, was brutally murdered in Puerto Rico, seven Latina and lesbian and gay elected officials from the mainland — including five members of the New York City Council — traveled there to meet with the victim's family and members of the island's LGBT community to offer their support.
"We want to bring a high profile to the case and make sure it is treated as hate crime," said Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito, an East Harlem Democrat who organized the New York contingent on the January 19 trip. "The law is there, but it has never been used on sexual orientation."
