LGBT advocates protest in L.A.; decry Laude killing

US Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton (left) and Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude

Filipina Jennifer Laude’s brutal murder in October of this year allegedly by U.S. Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton was decried by scores of transgender rights activists at a recently held rally in Hollywood, Los Angeles.

The advocates gathered on Wednesday, November 19, at the intersection of  Vermont Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard to protest violence against transgender people. Aside from Laude’s murder, the group also called to focus the case of Aniya Parker, a 47-year-old transgender woman shot at close range in East Hollywood last month

“We’re calling attention to the murder of Jennifer and the violence that continues to victimize transgender people in the Philippines, here in the US and around the world,” said Filipino-American Iris Boncales-Strauss, on behalf of feminist organization AF3irm.

Several groups aside from AF3irm lent their support to the rally. Members and advocates from Gabriela USA , as well as Hispanic transgender activist groups such as Translatina Coalition, Familia Trans Queer Liberation Movement and El/La Para Trans Latinas, came out in full force for the protest organized by transgender movement, TransLivesMatter.

Translatina Coalition president Bamby Salcedo told reporters that the group is demanding for “dignity, justice and safety for our (transgender) community.”

“This is the beginning of a national movement,” Salcedo declared.

Studies done in the U.S. have shown that transgender women face the highest risk for acts of “severe violence” within the lesbian gay bisexual transgender (LGBT) community; and that – compared to the general populace – transgender individuals are 400 times more likely to become victims of violence.

Gabriela USA national vice chair Terrie Cervas said that the advocates would like to make sure that Jennifer receives justice, and that Pemberton would not “run away, as we have seen in the case of Daniel Smith.”

“We’re adding (Jennifer’s) story to the voices here today,” Cervas said, to this end.
US Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith was convicted in 2006 of raping a Filipino woman inside the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. The conviction, however, was subsequently overturned.