A man was sentenced to prison for a hate crime in Seattle, students in Virginia staged walkouts in support of trans rights, and a Colorado court is set to hear the case of a baker who refused LGBT customers.
Man Sentenced to Prison for 2020 Hate Crime
A man has been sentenced to prison on Oct. 3 for committing arson at a Seattle gay bar in 2020, according to KOMO-TV.
Kalvinn Garcia, 25, set a dumpster behind Queer/Bar on fire on Feb. 24, 2020. He was arrested minutes after setting the fire and has been sentenced to 48 months in prison, then three years of supervised release.
"This sentence should send the message that every person in our nation deserves equal protection under the law regardless of who they love or how they identify and that those carrying out similar acts of violence against the LGBTQI+ community will be brought to justice,” said Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
Students Stage Walkouts in Support of Trans Rights
Screenshot/WAVY-TV Norfolk.
According to the Los Angeles Blade, students at five Virginia Beach high schools walked out on Sept. 29 to protest a potential school board measure that would require schools to reveal information about trans students to their parents. A vote on the measure is expected at the Virginia Beach School Board’s Oct. 10 meeting, according to NBC affiliate WAVY 3.
“Students like me aren’t going to be able to talk to our teachers if we’re constantly worried about our school officials calling home to forcibly out us,” said AJ, a trans high school student.
Court to Hear Case on Baker Who Refused LGBT Customers
Autumn Scardina via scardinalaw.com.
According to KDVR-TV, the Colorado Supreme Court will hear the case of a Christian baker who was sued by a transgender woman after he refused to make a cake celebrating her gender transition.
Jack Phillips was involved in a similar case in 2018 where he refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple. Phillips won that case in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Autumn Scardina brought her case against him after he refused to make a pink cake with blue frosting to celebrate her birthday and transition.
“It’s very important for businesses and the public in Colorado to understand that our anti-discrimination law still is in full force and there is no general right to discriminate against people in Colorado if you’re a business owner,” John McHugh, the attorney for Scardina, said.
