Virginia
Former Va. Tech football player found not guilty in beating death of gay man
Defense lawyer said victim tricked 18-year-old into having sex
A Montgomery County, Va., jury on May 27 acquitted a former Virginia Tech football player of second-degree murder for the May 2021 beating death of a gay man who was dressed in women’s clothes when the two men engaged in sex after meeting through the online dating site Tinder.
At the time of his arrest last year, Isimemen Etute, 19, who was 18 at the time of the incident, told police he acted in self-defense after learning that victim Jerry Paul Smith, 40, tricked him into thinking he was a woman when he allowed Smith to perform oral sex on him at Smith’s Blacksburg, Va., apartment on April 10, 2021.
Etute told police he returned to Smith’s apartment in May of that year to determine whether Smith was a man or a woman, according to the Roanoke Times. The newspaper reports that Etute testified at his trial that a confrontation broke out inside Smith’s apartment after Etute saw that Smith was a man. He testified at his three-day trial last week that he began punching Smith after Smith appeared to be reaching for a weapon under the mattress of his bed, possibly a gun.
Police discovered a knife under the mattress at the time they found Smith’s badly beaten body on the bedroom floor.
Prosecutors presented a witness from the county medical examiner’s office who testified that most of the bones in Smith’s face were broken, he had bleeding and swelling in his brain, and had multiple teeth knocked out.
The Associated Press reports that Assistant State’s Attorney Patrick Jensen argued at the trial that the injuries suffered by Smith indicated Etute acted with malice and Smith could not have posed a threat to him after he was initially punched by Etute.
“I felt violated,” Etute testified at the trial, according to the AP and the Roanoke Times “I was just in shock, in disbelief that someone tricked me and lied to me,” the Times quoted Etute as telling the judge and jury.
His attorney, Jimmy Turk, told the jury that Smith was a “deceitful and dishonest man” who “defrauded young men for his own sexual gratification,” the Roanoke Times reports. “Who is the real victim here?” the newspaper quoted Turk as telling the jury in his closing arguments. “This was a wicked sexual ruse.”
Prosecutor Jensen called on Circuit Court Judge Mike Fleenor to instruct the jury that the defense could not use a so-called “gay panic defense” on Etute’s behalf because the Virginia General Assembly last year passed a law outlawing the gay and transgender panic defense in criminal trials.
The law, similar to laws passed by other states, says juries cannot consider a violent act to be justified by someone who finds out someone else’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
According to the Roanoke Times, the judge said the law would have applied in this case, but it did not take effect until after the incident in which Etute assaulted Smith took place and so the law could not be applied retroactively.
The Times and AP report that the jury handed down its not guilty verdict after deliberating for just three hours.
Virginia
Fairfax County School Board issues Trans Day of Visibility proclamation
Activists hold rally supporting measure
A group of more than 100 supporters gathered outside of Luther Jackson Middle School in Falls Church, Va., on Thursday, March 27 to show appreciation for the passage of a Transgender Day of Visibility proclamation by the Fairfax County School Board. The board unanimously passed the proclamation in its general meeting held in the auditorium of the middle school that evening.
Karl Frisch, Fairfax County School Board chair, introduced the proclamation recognizing March 31 as Transgender Day of Visibility in Fairfax County Public Schools.
The Fairfax County School Board passed the proclamation, which “encourages all to promote a caring culture of equity, inclusivity and respect for transgender people, not only on this special day but throughout the entire year as well.”
Vanessa Hall, co-chair of FCPS Pride, was among the speakers and organizers of the Transgender Day of Visibility rally preceding the school board meeting.
“In this world right now, this world which feels so chaotic and threatening — which really seems to be overly focused on trans children, removing their rights — we need to take this opportunity to gather our community, to celebrate joy, to see each other and to gather our strength for the next attack, frankly,” Hall told the Blade.
Rev. Emma Chattin of the Metropolitan Community Church of Northern Virginia was among the speakers at the rally.
“We have to be visible — all of us — friends, family, allies, speak up!” Chattin called out to the crowd. “To do otherwise does a disservice to the strong souls that came before us. For the struggles that they faced are now ours. The spirits of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera look to us now. Because liberation is a long, long struggle. We are not helpless and we cannot be hopeless. Our time is now. We are a powerful people. We leave a mark and we will not be erased.”
Virginia
Virginia governor vetoes bill barring discrimination against PrEP users
Youngkin’s move disproportionately impacts LGBTQ community
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin this week vetoed a bill that would have made it illegal for health and life insurance companies to discriminate against individuals who have taken pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention.
House Bill 2769, titled Life or Health Insurances; Unfair Discrimination, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis for Prevention of HIV, was passed by both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly. The bill cleared the Virginia House of Delegates with 53 yeas and 44 nays and the Senate of Virginia with 24 yeas and 15 nays.
Under the Affordable Care Act, PrEP is covered by most insurance companies, meaning the medication should be available through employer-sponsored private health insurance plans, individual healthcare plans purchased via HealthCare.gov or state-based marketplaces, as well as Medicaid expansion coverage.
If the Virginia General Assembly fails to override Youngkin’s veto, insurance companies operating in Virginia will be allowed to continue discriminating against PrEP users by charging them higher premiums or even denying them coverage altogether.
According to recent data from UNAIDS, gay men and other men who have sex with men are 7.7 times more likely to contract HIV. Since the first cases of HIV were reported, 78 million people have been infected with the virus, and 35 million have died from AIDS-related illnesses.
Currently, there are three FDA-approved forms of PrEP: Truvada (emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate), available for individuals of all genders; Descovy (emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide), approved for use by individuals assigned male at birth; and Apretude (cabotegravir), an injectable PrEP administered every other month by a healthcare professional.
According to the FDA, PrEP reduces the risk of acquiring HIV from sex by about 99% when taken as prescribed and lowers the risk by at least 74% among people who inject drugs. Since its approval, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 3.5 million people received PrEP at least once in 2023.
Despite the bill’s passage in the Democratic-controlled General Assembly, Youngkin vetoed the legislation, a move that disproportionately impacts the LGBTQ community and others at higher risk of HIV.
The Washington Blade reached out to Youngkin’s office for comment but has not received a response.
Virginia
Pride Liberation Project announces additional Va. school board protests
Student-led group challenging Trump-Vance administration’s anti-LGBTQ policies
Following their recent protests at school board meetings in Virginia to challenge the Trump-Vance administration’s anti-LGBTQ policies, a student-led rights group on Wednesday outlined plans to continue their actions.
The Pride Liberation Project released a statement in early March announcing their “March Month of Action” after their first round of protests. The Pride Liberation Project on Wednesday issued another press release that provided additional details.
“Queer students will rally at local school board meetings across Virginia, as they call for education leaders to reject the Trump-Musk’s administration escalating attacks against queer people.” said Conifer Selintung on behalf of the Pride Liberation Project. “Since taking office, the Trump-Musk administration has ignored the real issues facing our schools — like declining reading scores and the mental health crisis — and tried to bully queer students into the closet. Alongside other hateful attacks, they’ve attacked nondiscrimination protections, banned gender-affirming care, and whitewashed history.”
The Pride Liberation Project press release also included a statement from Moth, an LGBTQ student at McLean High School.
“I want to be able to go to school as myself, just like any other student,” said Moth. “To do that, I need my school board to stand up to bullies.”
The Pride Liberation Project has also released a schedule of rallies it plans to hold this month.
The first rally took place at the Prince William County School Board meeting in Manassas on Wednesday. A second event took place at the Roanoke County School Board meeting on Thursday.
Additional rallies are scheduled to take place in Rockingham and York Counties on March 24, Loudoun County on March 25, and Fairfax County on March 27.
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