Press

Activists from West Virginia and beyond will gather in front of the Marion County, West Virginia courthouse at 7 p.m. tonight to remember the life of a gay man murdered last week and to call upon law enforcement officials to investigate the possibility that the murder was hate motivated.

On July 4, 26-year-old Arthur Carl "J.R." Warren was beaten to death and then run over several times in an effort to conceal the crime. Warren, an African-American gay man, had recently complained to family and friends that he was being harassed. But Marion County Sheriff Ron Watkins has stated there has been no evidence discovered thus far that would lead him to believe that the murder was motivated by bias against Warren's race or sexual orientation. Three teenagers have been arrested and charged in connection with the murder.

"The extremely violent nature of Mr. Warren's murder follows the same pattern we often see associated with hate crimes," said NGLTF Executive Director Elizabeth Toledo. "This kind of brutality characterized the slayings of Matthew Shepard, James Byrd, Billy Jack Gaither, and Brandon Teena. The suggestion that Carl Warren's murder was any different stretches credibility. Sheriff Watkins should take note of such violent precedent and act accordingly."

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the West Virginia Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights are asking West Virginia residents to attend the vigil and to call local law enforcement and state legislators and encourage them to address hate violence in the state. State legislators earlier this year refused to pass legislation that would have added sexual orientation to the categories covered under the state hate crimes law, legislation that, if passed, would have taken effect just days before Warren’s murder.

The vigil begins at 7 p.m. tonight in front of the Marion County Courthouse and will feature speakers from several local organizations, including the Coalition. For more information about the vigil or the investigation, contact the West Virginia Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights, 304-343-7305.

West Virginia residents should also call Sheriff Watkins, 304-367-5300, and Marion County Prosecutor G. Richard Bunner, 304-367-5380, to express concern that the possibility of hate motivation be fully investigated.

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The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is to build the political power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community from the ground up. We do this by training activists, organizing broad-based campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance pro-LGBT legislation, and by building the organizational capacity of our movement. Our Policy Institute, the movement’s premier think tank, provides research and policy analysis to support the struggle for complete equality and to counter right-wing lies. As part of a broader social justice movement, we work to create a nation that respects the diversity of human expression and identity and creates opportunity for all. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., we also have offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis and Cambridge.