Hatred in the Hills

A Vicious Beating, A Poor Town, And A Thorny Debate Over Hate-Crime Laws

HARLAN COUNTY, Ky. -- In the middle of an April night last year, a young gay man named Kevin Pennington crawled out of the woods in the remote hills of southeastern Kentucky, looking for help. Bruises and cuts covered his face and body and he limped down the road, dragging his ankle along the asphalt, until he reached a pair of empty cabins in a clearing -- a ranger's station -- and smashed out a window in one and climbed inside.

Pennington then called 911, setting in motion a series of events that will culminate next month in a historic trial: For the first time, the federal government will prosecute someone for a hate crime aimed at a gay person...

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/23/hate-crime-harlan-county_n_1534421.html

First a gay Archie comics character and now this...

DC Comics' Gay Superhero In The Works: Publisher Dan DiDio Says that one of the DC Superheroes will be coming out of the closet...

Details of the character and his specific story arc are relatively scarce thus far, but as Bleeding Cool is reporting, DC Comics co-publisher Dan DiDio told attendees at the Kapow Comic Convention in London that the superhero -- an established player in one of the series, and was originally introduced as straight -- will become "one of our most prominent gay characters."
DC Comics has produced some of the comic book world's most iconic superheroes, including Superman, Wonder Woman and others. Senior Vice President Bob Wayne compared his company's policy on gay characters to that of President Obama in that it "has evolved."

READ MORE HERE...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/21/dc-comics-gay-superhero-i_n_1533105.html