Again?

PRISCILLA PIMENTAL

On Friday, when relatives arrived at her apartment to check on her, they found dishes unwashed by the kitchen sink, and her bed, a mattress on the floor, unmade.

A gay pride flag was spread across her bedroom floor, below the blood-streaked walls.

Priscilla, from Bethlehem, PA., a very small town where everyone knows your business, moved to New York in her teens. She made the move because she knew she was gay, and wanted to avoid hurting her mother's feelings. Being from a large Puerto Rican family she knew the stigma associated with homosexuality, especially in Latin culture. Yet despite the move, she remained close with her family often visiting home often full of jokes and witty impersonations.

She was a bartender in Queens and building a life for her self in the upcoming lesbian community. She had a relationship with a woman for about two years that she took home twice to meet the family. When the relationship ended a few months back, she took up skydiving and recently dyed her hair flaming red. She seemed to be loving life.

She was found Friday bound with her hands behind her back, and stabbed multiple time in the bathtub, along with her dog Gucci. Now, currently the investigation is under way and the police have admitted that there was no forced entry, but they did mention that the possibility Priscilla was targeted because she was gay, was certainly one of the top motives being investigated. Especially, since Queens has been seeing a rise in hate crimes this year. I hope that she wasn't targeted for this reason. As I hear more stories of crimes against gays, lesbians, and transgendered people I keep wondering when our elected leaders are going to wake up and realize that we need anti-discrimination legislation. With this country's politicians constantly pandering to the religious right I wonder if we will get this legislation. It isn't a religious right to not live in fear, it is a basic human right.