Call For Hate-Crime Investigation In Murder of Lesbian Activist
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff

(November 30, Washington) The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has urged Milwaukee law enforcement officials to fully investigate the murder of a local activist, including elevating the murder to the classification of a hate crime.

Milwaukee activist Juana Vega was shot repeatedly in the face and chest and died on Sunday, Nov. 11. First-degree intentional homicide charges have been filed against Pablo Parrilla who, according to witnesses, threatened to kill Vega on numerous occasions because of her lesbian relationship with Parrilla's sister.

Local law enforcement officials have not yet classified the murder as a hate crime. Under Wisconsin law, such a classification would not alter the mandatory life sentence already required by a first-degree intentional homicide conviction.

"This vicious murder happened solely because the victim was a lesbian. This is exactly the reason that the hate crimes law exists," said NGLTF executive director Lorri L. Jean.

"The Wisconsin hate crimes law has been scrutinized by the U.S. Supreme Court and has been found constitutional, yet it has been rarely, if ever, applied in a case involving bias violence against a member of the Milwaukee-area lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender community. Now is the time."

NGLTF in a letter urged Mayor John Norquist, Common Council President Marvin Pratt, and County Executive Tom Ament to "give full consideration to enhancing the homicide charge with a charge that the alleged killer committed a hate crime."

Vega, 36, was a Mexican-American lesbian, an entrepreneur, a painter and a chef. She was active in Las Americas Without Borders, a social organization for GLBT Latino/as in Milwaukee. Her brutal murder occurred on the last day of the Creating Change conference, the national conference of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender movement, which was convened in Milwaukee by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Foundation.