On Oct. 30, in some of the quickest and most efficient action I’ve seen in a while, Philadelphia’s City Council unanimously voted 17-0 to pass an ordinance that imposes elevated punishments for violent attacks based on gender identity, sexual orientation or disability status. This was in response to the vicious antigay attacks perpetrated almost two months earlier, which saw as many as 15 people hurling antigay slurs and physically assaulting a gay couple in the Rittenhouse area of Center City.
Almost a week after the ordinance was enacted, two women, Jessica Kelly and Bonnie Moran, were returning from a party on Halloween night in Mayfair when they were attacked by a mob of teenagers. They were walking arm-in-arm when they heard someone yell, “Look at those ugly lesbians,” according to news reports. Kelly’s ribs were fractured in the attack and Moran suffered a concussion and injuries to her neck. The most interesting part of this particular attack is that while the women were thought to be lesbians, they were just two platonic friends who happened to be walking arm-in-arm.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
