A Month Before Pulse Tragedy, Gunmen Killed Seven in Mexican Gay Bar Attack Carmen Triola - OUT
go to original June 17, 2016

Despite progressive LGBT laws, Mexico's rising homophobia remains a concern (MigTelevision)

Nearly a month ago, on May 22, gunmen went into La Madame, a gay club in Xalpa, Veracruz, and opened fire, killing seven and injuring 12 in a crowd of about 180 people.

Witnesses said that there was a fight in the bar about an hour before, but no evidence has been found. The secretary of public security said that the incident was related to a territorial fight over drug sales, but LGBT+ activists feel otherwise.

"The fact is, attackers fired their weapons randomly at customers inside 'La Madame' a gay friendly nightclub," said one article in the Yucatan Times.

While the Caribbean and Latin America have made many strides over the years for LGBT rights, and Mexico is ahead of the U.S. on certain issues (gay marriage was legalized in 2009, gay men can donate blood, and there are laws across the country that forbid employment discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation), violent homophobia remains a huge issue.

According to the Inter-American Comission on Human Rights, almost 600 LGBT people were killed over a fifteen month period, and 176 were injured in 25 countries of the Organization of American States. Making matters worse, in 2012, 98 percent of homicides went unsolved in Mexico.

Read the rest at OUT

Related: The Massacre No One Reported: Up to 15 Dead in Mass Shooting in Mexican Gay Bar in May (Logo)

Related: 'They Had No Mercy,' Victim Says of Mass Shooting. 'It Was a Slaughterhouse' (Gay Star News)

Related: Media and Communities Ignoring Mexico Massacre (GayNZ.com Daily News)

Related: Crowd Funding Site Becomes Critical To Families Of Caribbean, Latin American Orlando Victims (News Americas Now)

Related: No Fundraisers Planned for Xalapa, Mexico (GayNZ.com Daily News)

Related: In Wake of Orlando, Mexico's LGBT Rights Debate Changes Tone (The Christian Science Monitor)

Related: Mexican Catholic Church Promotes Homophobia (Mexico Voices)

Related: Gender-Based Violence, Misogyny and a Global Hypocrisy That Fuels It (Humanosphere)

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