In the aftermath of a hate crime

Angie Zapata of Greeley, CO was killed last year in a bias-motivated anti-transgender murder. Her life was memorialized in Washington Park UCC last November, when the Denver church hosted the transgender community's annual statewide Transgender Day of Remembrance ceremony.

In an action to prevent further hate crimes, transgender religious leaders gathered this past weekend in Washington DC, pressing for a federal hate crimes bill inclusive of sexual orientation, gender, and gender identity, as well as disabilities.

Among them was Rev. Malcolm Himschoot, Coloradoan and UCC minister. Himschoot worked with Nicole Garcia of Lutherans Concerned - North America, and with Woody Camacho of the Metropolitan Community Church to issue in Spanish a press release on behalf of 50 other transgender faith leaders. Full text can be found at http://www.transfaithonline.org/network/.

The religious leaders' letter to legislators also urged support of a bill currently in the Senate to reform this country's criminal justice system, starting with the creation of a criminal justice reform coalition. "Violence is never the end of the story," said the group, pledging to pray for Allen Andrade and all who live inside prison walls.

Legislative defeat for young people

In a statewide grassroots campaign to ensure college-tuition equity for Colorado high school students born in or brought to the U.S. as minors, the side of community organizers and progressive faith organizations lost. Clergy members of the United Church of Christ and organizations such as The Interfaith Alliance and Hunger for Justice ecumenical advocacy network had participated in the campaign, including with a late-breaking sign-on letter.

Today's newspaper tells of low college enrollment among Colorado's Latina/o students.

Despite the state legislative setback, some students will continue to meet the challenge of out-of-state tuition prices with high achievement and precious scholarships. Many more will be eligible for college-level academics but unable to pursue their studies because of financial barriers.