# Justice for Gwen Araujo **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 27, 2006, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-for-gwen-araujo/341918 "2006-01-27T22:09:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-for-gwen-araujo/341918/1 "2006-01-27T22:09:01Z")
new story: [http://www.ktvu.com/slideshow/news/6504421/detail.html?qs=;s=1;p=news;dm=ss;w=400](http://www.ktvu.com/slideshow/news/6504421/detail.html?qs=;s=1;p=news;dm=ss;w=400) For those not familiar with the story, Gwen Araujo was a young transgendered person, who was born male but lived as a female. These men had sex with her without knowing she was actually biologically male, and killed her when they found out. The first trial was a hung jury. Two of the men got 15 to life, one of them got 6 years, and I don’t know what the fourth one who plea-bargained got. It’s better than nothing, I suppose. I’m glad her family finally got justice. ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-for-gwen-araujo/341918/2 "2006-01-27T22:21:01Z")
Forgot to add this letter by Gwen’s mother, printed yesterday: [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/01/26/EDGNSGSK5O1.DTL](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/01/26/EDGNSGSK5O1.DTL) As a bisexual woman who is currently in a relationship with a man, I’m about as safe as you can be and still be “queer”. I take no comfort in this. I feel very strongly, on a very personal level, about gay issues and gay rights. I take the issue of gay marriage extremely personally even though it will probably never even apply to me. I just can’t understand the hate that people feel toward homosexuals. It seems so evil, and I can’t get my head around someone wanting to be evil. I watched “The Pianist” last night and at several points I just kept asking myself why? and how? How can there be so many people filled with not just hatred but violence and evil? ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-for-gwen-araujo/341918/3 "2006-01-28T00:01:06Z")
I’m sorry, but I’m confused. Call me naive, but how does one have sex with someone else, and not be aware of the sexual organs of the other party? I mean, were these guys having anal sex with Gwen? If she was in the midst of operations (and nowhere do I see that), wouldn’t there be some evidence of previous gender? Hey, by no means am I defending these morons who killed Gwen. But I remain confused as to how it “came” out that she was male. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-for-gwen-araujo/341918/4 "2006-01-28T00:20:52Z")
I believe that she performed oral sex on them without, it would appear, completely disrobing herself. ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-for-gwen-araujo/341918/5 "2006-01-28T00:22:01Z")
From what I recall of the case, she convinced them to have partially-clothed anal sex or oral sex to avoid them seeing her genitals. The men got together and compared notes and became suspicious. they confronted Gwen and freaked out when they found out the truth. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwen\_Araujo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwen_Araujo) ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-for-gwen-araujo/341918/6 "2006-01-28T00:32:23Z")
God, we’re an interesting species. So, they get their rocks off, and then kill the person because s/he wasn’t who they thought s/he was. words fail me. (and, see, I’m old–I don’t equate a blow job with sex. Apparently me and Bill are the only ones…and he has 20 years on me!) ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-for-gwen-araujo/341918/7 "2006-01-28T02:30:08Z")
In response to this case, the California legislature is working to pass the [Gwen Araujo Justice for Victims Act](http://www.365gay.com/Newscon06/01/012706calPanic.htm) to limit the so-called “gay panic” defense. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-for-gwen-araujo/341918/8 "2006-01-28T13:10:29Z")
> [@Ghanima](#): > > How can there be so many people filled with not just hatred but violence and evil? I appreciate what you’re saying, but as a note, don’t ever assume that the only people who hate TG/TS persons are straights. There are a whole lot of transphobic or transhating gays and lesbians out there - I guess everyone needs someone to feel superior to, right? Maybe TS/TG people are the Nazis of the sex/gender world - you know, the default movie villain that everone can safely hate? In addition, the TG/TS community seems to be one where there is a fierce pecking order, where if a person in it is not being “committed” enough to the transitioning process, regardless of any extenuating circumstances, then they become subject to rejection, abuse, and worse. Friends of mine have regaled me with stories of being forcibly outed and humiliated by fellow members of the TS community, beatings by gays, stabbings by lesbians…good times for one and all! :rolleyes: There’s a whole lot of hate, both “out there” and very close by. It will take decades, or (IMO) centuries, before Society grows up and can accept people like Gwen Araujo. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-for-gwen-araujo/341918/9 "2006-01-28T20:28:13Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > In response to this case, the California legislature is working to pass the [Gwen Araujo Justice for Victims Act](http://www.365gay.com/Newscon06/01/012706calPanic.htm) to limit the so-called “gay panic” defense. Seriously? That’s wonderful. And everything **Una** said is true. I don’t even care to go into how much I’ve had to bang my head against walls even with my own acquaintances, who as you can imagine tend to be a fairly with-it bunch, just to get them to deal with the most basic trans-related concepts. It’s truly infuriating.