Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT

LGBT

LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...

) people in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

 have gained some legal rights in recent years. Same sex relationships

Same-sex relationship

A same-sex relationship is a relationship between two persons of the same sex and can take many forms, from romantic and sexual, to non-romantic close relationships. The term is mainly associated with gay and lesbian people...

 have been legal in Puerto Rico since 2003, however same-sex unions, marriages and adoptions are not permitted. Federal U.S. hate crime laws apply in Puerto Rico.

Violence against the LGBT community

In recent years, numerous LGBT people have been murdered with some laying the blame for the intolerance on the religious community.

The dismembered body of 19 year-old college student Jorge Steven López Mercado was discovered 14 November 2009 in Cayey

Cayey, Puerto Rico

Cayey is a mountain town in central Puerto Rico located on the Central Mountain range, north of Salinas and Guayama; south of Cidra and Caguas; east of Aibonito and Salinas; and west of San Lorenzo Cayey is spread over 21 wards and Cayey Pueblo...

, a city located in the island's interior region. López was widely known as a volunteer for organizations advocating HIV prevention and gay rights, and activists are planning remembrance vigils for him in cities including San Juan

San Juan, Puerto Rico

San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...

, New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 and Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

. According to local police, it is under investigation as a possible hate crime, under the newly approved U.S. Federal hate crimes law. Juan A. Martinez Matos was arrested a few days after López Mercado's body was discovered. On 12 May 2010, Martinez Matos pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 99 years in prison for the murder of López Mercado.

On 19 April 2010, the body of Ashley Santiago, a transgendered woman who resided in the town of Corozal

Corozal, Puerto Rico

Corozal is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central-eastern region, north of Orocovis and Barranquitas; south Vega Alta; southwest of Toa Alta; east of Morovis and Orocovis; and west of Naranjito. Corozal is spread over 12 wards and Corozal Pueblo...

 was discovered in the kitchen of her home. Santiago, a stylist at a local salon, was found naked on the floor and was stabbed 14 times by an unknown assailant.

On 13 September 2010, the bodies of Justo Luis "Michelle" Gonzalez and Miguel Orlando "La Flaca" Soto, two transsexuals were found murdered along a road in the small town of Juana Diaz

Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico

Juana Díaz is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the southern coast of the island, south of Jayuya, Ciales, Orocovis and Villalba; east of Ponce; and west of Coamo and Santa Isabel and the Caribbean Sea to the south. Juana Díaz is spread over 12 wards and Juana Diaz Pueblo...

. With these two deaths, LGBT activists on the island have stated that nine gay and transsexual people have been killed over the last 10 months on the island, and local authorities have not adequately responded to these crimes.

History of the LGBT movement

In 1973 the Comunidad de Orgullo Gay (the Gay Pride Community) was the first gay rights organization in Puerto Rico. In 1991, the Coalición Puertorriqueña de Lesbianas y Homosexuales (the Puerto Rican Lesbian and Gay Coalition) was also formed. That same year, one of the first LGBT pride parades was organized in Puerto Rico, and subsequent events occur each year in San Juan and Cabo Rojo

Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico

Cabo Rojo is a municipality situated on the southwest coast of Puerto Rico and forms part of the San Germán–Cabo Rojo metropolitan area as well as the larger Mayagüez–San Germán–Cabo Rojo Combined Statistical Area....

.

Between the 1990s and 2008, various LGBT community groups arose, as there was more public discussion about sexual orientation, gender identity, human rights and the HIV-AIDS pandemic. Today, there are numerous Puerto Rican LGBT rights organizations and nightclubs.

See also

• LGBT rights in the Americas
  LGBT rights in the Americas
  Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights are complex in the Americas. The British, French, Spanish and Portuguese colonists, who settled most of the Americas, brought Christianity from Europe...
  
  
• LGBT in the United States
  LGBT in the United States
  -LGBT rights:LGBT rights in the US has evolved over time and varies on a state-by-state basis. Sexual acts between persons of the same sex have been legal nationwide in the U.S. since 2003, pursuant to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Lawrence v. Texas....