Zapatero there.

One of the motivators Martin says moved him to come out publicly as a gay man was the gruesome murder of Jorge Steven López Mercado in 2009. The gay teen was abducted, dismembered, beheaded, and his remains were left burning along a rural road in central Puerto Rico. The savagery of the killing awoke the consciences of many on the Island besides Martin, though the numbers of violent attacks against LGBT Puerto Ricans has continued to rise. López Mercado’s murderer has been convicted, and is serving a 99-year sentence.

Geneva, Switzerland – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared to the leaders of the world that LGBT rights must be a priority for the world community. As reported by the BBC, Secretary Clinton said in a speech tothe United States of America and you have millions of friends among the American people.”

The full text of Secretary Clinton’s speech may be found on the State Department website by clicking here. A link to the full text of the speech, and video of Secretary Clinton delivering it, may be accessed on Huffington Post here.

San Juan, Puerto Rico – Puerto Rico’s lawmakers are poised to remove LGBT people from hate crimes protection status with the stroke of a pen. Although at least 18 LGBT Puerto Ricans have been murdered in hate crimes since 2009, Edge Boston reports that the territory’s Senate passed a bill last month removing LGBT people from protected categories under the hate crimes law that has been on the books since 2004. The exclusion effort