In memory of Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado and Jason Mattison Jr.

Vigils were held over the weekend in New York, Chicago, Boston, Dallas and other cities to honor the memories of Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado of Puerto Rico and Jason Mattison Jr. of Baltimore -- two gay teens who were the recent victims of alleged bias killings.

Vigil for Jorge Mercado

Equality Forum reports that a vigil will be held in Philadelphia on Friday evening, November 20th to remember 19-year-old Jorge Lopez Mercado. Lopez, a Puerto Rican native was found partially burned, decapitated and with arms and legs dismembered, on the side of the road near his home town Caguas, Puerto Rico on Saturday, November 14th.

Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender organizations, activists and allies are invited. The Vigil will include the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus, Gloria Casarez, LGBT Liaison to Mayor Nutter, Cynthia Vasquez, youth activist at the Gay and Lesbian Latino AIDS Education Initiative (GALAEI), and Malcolm Lazin, Executive Director of Equality Forum.

According to Equality Forum, there were 29 gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) hate crime murders in the United States in 2008.

“We must stop the homophobic slaughter,” stated Malcolm Lazin, Executive Director of Equality Forum. “Since Matthew Shepard’s murder in 1998, there have been over 16,000gay hate crimes, and on average, about 1,450 GLBT hate crimes per year.”

There will also be a Vigil in New York City on Sunday, November 22nd. “It is our hope that communities around the nation will hold Vigils to remember Jorge and that his memory will be a call to conscience,” said Lazin.