Nearly 100 gay
rights activists gathered to remember a 23-year-old female
impersonator who was killed in Yuma, Ariz., three
months ago. Amancio Corrales's murder has remained
unsolved and has become a rallying cry for advocates
who believe the gay man was targeted because of his
sexual orientation. Investigators have declined to label the
case a hate crime.
On Saturday,
advocates and Corrales family supporters gathered at the
Arizona capitol for a candlelight vigil. "We don't know if
this is a hate crime," said Democratic state
senator Robert Cannell, who attended the event
with Corrales's mother and sister. "But if it was a
hate crime, it's tragic. We hope that the perpetrator will
be brought to justice."
The vigil was
intended to support the family but also to advocate for
adoption of federal legislation that would give the FBI and
other agencies more authority in dealing with hate
crimes, said Amy Kobeta, a spokeswoman for the Arizona
Human Rights Fund and Foundation. Corrales was found
dead of violent trauma on May 6 in the Colorado River near
Yuma, according to authorities. Dressed as a woman, he had
been barhopping with friends earlier, police say.
Whether the murder was a hate crime is something for
prosecutors and the courts to sort out, said Capt.
Eben Bratcher, a spokesman for the Yuma County Sheriff's
Office. (AP)