Remembering Brandon
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 10 years since the murder of Brandon Teena in Nebraska.
FALLS CITY, Nebraska (AP) — Ten years ago, a handsome, brown-haired 21-year-old named Brandon Teena was raped and later murdered by two men after they discovered he wasn’t born a man.
The New Year’s Eve tragedy in rural southeastern Nebraska inspired the award-winning 1999 film, “Boys Don’t Cry.” It also touched off a movement in the transgendered community.
In the days after Teena was killed, a new generation of activists banded together to demand greater civil rights protections. Ten years later, 65 municipalities and states have hate crime laws that specifically include transgendered people, according to the Transgender Law Policy Institute. California became the fourth state to adopt such a law earlier this year.
In the annals of gay/gender-related hate crimes, this is one I remember well. I remember being most shocked at who law enforcement officials treated Teena after he was vicitmized by rape. I was stunned at how little was done to bring the then-rapists/would-be-murderers to justice.
Many activists say Teena’s murder attracted so much attention because of its brutality and the failure of law enforcement to protect Teena.
John Lotter and Marvin Nissen were convicted of murdering Teena, who had dated a female friend of the two men. They also killed Lisa Lambert, 24, and Philip DeVine, 22, who had witnessed Teena’s death in a farmhouse.
A week before the killing, Teena had told the local sheriff the men had raped him, but the sheriff took no action.
In a scathing court opinion in 2001, Nebraska Supreme Court Chief Justice John Hendry said former Richardson County Sheriff Charles Laux showed indifference by referring to Teena as “it” and not immediately arresting the suspects.
Check out Remembering Our Dead online for an idea of how widespread this kind of hate-inspired violence is.
See Boys Don’t Cry for an excellent dramatization of Brandon’s story.