Jail for Gay, Transgender Inmates to Close

Yahoo! -- AP ^ | 29 Dec 2005 | David B. Caruso

[rightwinggoth]

NEW YORK - One of the nation's few jail dormitories specifically for gay or transgender prisoners is closing on Rikers Island, prompting complaints from some activists who say it is a needed safe haven.

The unit stopped accepting new inmates last month at the direction of Department of Correction Commissioner Martin Horn. With only 56 inmates left in the unit Thursday, it could be shut entirely within the next few weeks, the department said.

Plans call for the specialized unit to be replaced with a new protective custody system that would be available to prisoners who feel threatened, regardless of their sexual orientation.

The change has alarmed members of some civil liberties and gay rights groups that note the new housing would likely be more restrictive than the old unit.

"People should not be punished for wanting to be safe," said D. Horowitz, a legal fellow at the Sylvia Rivera Law Project.

The unit, reserved for prisoners in pretrial detention, opened on the city's island prison complex in the late 1970s to assuage complaints about abusive treatment of homosexuals. It has space for 146 prisoners but was holding 126 when it began emptying on Nov. 28.

[Viking2002]

What I want to know is, who the hell appropriated federal funding for a Home For Felonious Teabaggers in the first place????

[vpintheak]

Sorry lefty pukes. Gay criminals are not special and separate from the rest of the criminal population. They are just criminals.

[Clintonfatigued]

Chances are, it didn't have much more sex then the rest of the prison.

[Loyalist]

Strange. You'd think prison was a paradise for homosexuals.

[rightwinggoth]

[digger48]

Let's have a Gay Old Time in Cellblock C.

Bet that's a sight in the morning when their make-up is all runny. Everyone fighting to be the prison-b!tch.

[Viking2002]

EEEEEK!!!!!!!!!! Damn it, man, don't post that stuff!!!!!

[newzjunkey]

What federal funds? It was done in the 70's and Riker's is a NYC jail, not club fed. There are no "gay jails" at the NY state or Fed level according to the article.

[Tamar1973]

"People should not be punished for wanting to be safe," said D. Horowitz, a legal fellow at the Sylvia Rivera Law Project.

Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.

[1FASTGLOCK45]

digger48 wrote:
"Bet that's a sight in the morning when their make-up is all runny. Everyone fighting to be the prison-b!tch."

-- "If you can't do the time, don't commit the crime"
Is that how the saying goes? Those "in"mates should have thought twice before commiting their crimes (crime #1: it doesn't pay to be gay)

[Viking2002]

OK, so I stand corrected. Now, who was the dumb sumbitch who pinched anyone's tax dollars to incarcerate a gaggle of bathhouse scofflaws?!?

[uptoolate]

"Don't do the crime if you can't do the time." HMMM. Barretta theme song. The irony kills me.

[teenyelliott]

They are criminals. No "safe haven" is owed to them.

Consider your bung hole before you do the crime, gay or not.

[vpintheak]

Case in point.

[JoeSixPack1]

Consider your bung hole before you do the crime, gay or not.

OFCOL, now there's more to worry about!!

[teenyelliott]

I know you've heard about dropping the soap. It's nothing new. Fags are gonna get it, just like the straighties.

[JoeSixPack1]

Fags are gonna get it, just like the straighties.

Nobody get's away?? ROFL!! Now,,, how do you know this? :-)

[rfreedom4u]

I'm surprised the ACLU didn't jump on this when the prison was started. They are usually against special rights for anyone. Oh wait nevermind. The ACLU only wants special rights for the weidos and freaks in our society.

[Pharmboy]

Transgender activist Mariah Lopez said she knows firsthand the difference between the specialized unit and regular housing at Rikers, having been imprisoned in both on prostitution charges. "I can't conceive a Rikers Island without gay housing," Lopez said.

You're almost right, Mariah. You can't conceive, period.