In response to the guilty verdict in the trial of Angie Zapata's murder, here is what Out Front Colorado editor and trans-activist Matt Kailey had to say:The jury's first-degree murder finding, along with the hate-crime finding, in the murder of Angie Zapata by Allen Ray Andrade has demonstrated that defenses such as "trans panic" and "gay panic" have no basis in reality and that the lives of GLBT people are just as valuable as any other life.
This trial has been monitored across the country, and this historic verdict will serve as a lesson for anyone who believes that GLBT people are less important or less "human" than others and that their mere existence is justification for attack.
Everyone in the GLBT community will benefit from this verdict. Today, justice has been served and, amid the pain and loss that the Zapata family has had to endure, hope for our community has emerged.
