April 12, 2012 will forever be a day to remember in the history of the gay and lesbian community especially for Kentuckians. The push however to get the case to a federal level came from Kentucky Equality Federation, and advocacy and public advocate non-profit. Two Eastern Kentucky men are the first in the nation to be charged under the section of the federal hate-crimes law that makes it illegal to attack people based on their sexual orientation, said U.S. Attorney Kerry B. Harvey.

After the Hazard Pavilion incident, two hate crimes in Harlan, one in Breathitt, and another in Bell County, all in the past month (with the exception of the Hazard Pavilion incident), Kentucky Equality Federation today created a special operating region within southeastern Kentucky.

In just a year and a half, the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community of Puerto Rico has been rocked by the deaths of 18 of its members, with three murdered in the last week alone. The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States and is not a sovereign State like the other 50 which appear on the United States flag. Pedro Julio Serrano, communications manger for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force said there has been a “spike in violence against the LGBT people since the ‘80s, when we had a serial killer who killed 27 gay men.”

Toby Ray Lasure was sentenced to life in prison Friday afternoon for the 2009 shooting death of Christopher Tolliver, who was said to have been Lasure’s former boyfriend.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reported that District Judge Henria Bailey-Lewis acquitted the juvenile at her trial on Monday. The girl’s name has not been released because she was 17 in April, when the alleged crime occurred. Her trial was closed, but her attorney, Sharon K. Allen Gay, said she received permission to release information about the verdict. The teen and two 18-year-old friends, Corinne Schwab and Ashley Sams, were charged in April with attempted murder and kidnapping in a case involving Cheyenne Williams. The trial for Schwab and Sams, is scheduled for Thursday.

Dee Johnson, the mother of Cheyenne Williams says the Kentucky State Police Investigator assigned to investigate the assault of her daughter perjured himself during the preliminary hearing in Jackson County on April 29, 2010. The judge reduced the charges against the three females charged with the attempted murder and kidnapping of Williams to misdemeanors. Johnson told Kentucky Equality Federation, the advocate for the victim, that the police officer testified he spoke to Sheila Clemons at Daniel Boone about the overall mental state and personal appearance of Cheyenne Williams when she arrived for her job interview after the assault. According to Johnson, who contacted Clemons, the police never contacted her about the investigation.

The mother of a gay teenager says her daughter won’t return to Jackson County High School after an incident in which she claims three other girls tried to kill her. In an e-mail to Jackson County schools officials on Friday, the Kentucky Equality Federation disputed statements that the incident was a prank and asked for assurances of safety for gay students.

Republic of Uganda proposes law to executive homosexuals. The worldwide outrage continues. In a groundbreaking move, a representative of the Pope in the audience read a statement strongly condemning the criminalization of homosexual conduct. A powerful U.S. Representative urged the Republic of Ugandan to ‘come to their senses’ and reject a controversial proposed law that would punish homosexuality with life in prison, without the possibility of parole or pardon.

Data released by the FBI shows that hate crimes in the United States has reached a seven-year high, yet another increase from 2005′s report. 64 hate crimes related to sexual orientation or gender identity happened here in Kentucky.