This week read about a suspect arrested for the murder of Zoella Martinez in Washington, and Kelly Easter suing the Biden Administration for discrimination in Tennessee.
Suspect Arrested for Murder of Trans Woman
Jacaree Rashad Hardy, 24, was arrested on Oct. 6 for the murder of Zoella Martinez, 20, in Seattle, Washington.
Martinez wasn’t publicly recognized as trans until recently, the Advocate reported.
“The news of trans homicide is routinely delayed, which underscores the heartbreaking reality that there will always be more victims than we know,” the Transgender Law Center wrote on Facebook.
Martinez believed that Hardy took $1,100 from her bank account and arranged a meeting to try to get her money back, the Seattle Times reported. Prior to the meeting, Martinez sent her friend the Facebook profile of the man she planned to meet, the meeting location, and her friend stayed nearby. She saw Martinez in a vehicle parked next to Martinez’s vehicle before it sped off. Martinez’s friend attempted to follow the vehicle but the driver was speeding and her friend lost sight of the vehicle.
Martinez’s friend reported her missing that night, Aug. 31. On Sept. 1, Martinez was found with five gunshot wounds in an alley.
After being at large for a month, Hardy was charged with second-degree murder and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
Lesbian Sues Biden Admin. for Discrimination in Foster Program
Photo via PxHere.
Kelly Easter is a 47-year-old realtor who lives alone in Nashville, Tennessee in a two-bedroom apartment. Easter became extremely concerned by the conditions unaccompanied migrant children face at the U.S.-Mexico border and decided she wanted to do something about it.
“I have the resources. I thought, ‘Why not? Let me help,’” Easter told TIME.
She contacted the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which places migrant children in foster care, and was directed to Bethany Christian Services, a non-profit that runs the HHS program in Easter’s area. She reached out to Bethany in September 2020.
Easter, a lesbian, was told by Bethany on August 12, 2021 that she couldn’t participate in the program because of her sexual orientation.
“I literally cried,” Easter said. “Just to be turned down because of who I am, it was really surreal.”
With the help of LGBTQ civil rights group Lambda Legal, Easter filed a federal lawsuit against HHS on Oct. 13. Easter alleges that by funding and operating a federal program through an organization that discriminates against sexual orientation, the HHS has violated the Constitution by enabling discrimination.
