GAY FLAMES

Niara is a black trans woman imprisoned in Pennsylvania. Currently, she is struggling to get the money together so she can afford the legal fees associated with changing her name to match her gender identity.

PLEASE, if you can spare ever a few dollars, send her some money to help with these costs!

On the internet

Niara is a black trans woman imprisoned in Pennsylvania. Currently, she is struggling to get the money together so she can afford the legal fees associated with changing her name to match her gender identity.

PLEASE, if you can spare ever a few dollars, send her some money to help with these costs!

gayflames

Today, Luke accepted a negotiated non-cooperating plea deal and was sentenced to ten years. He will serve two in prison and eight on probation. As a last minute addition to this plea deal, Judge Markle added that Luke was to be banned from the state of Georgia, save one county, for the duration of his probation. He was taken away from us, and to prison immediately after court.

Updates On Luke O’Donovan:

The case has moved slowly through the court system. In April, Luke was re-indicted with an additional charge, and now faces five charges of felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one charge of attempted murder. After over a year of waiting, Luke’s self-defense immunity hearing occurred in July of this year. Luke was denied immunity, but the defense feels that the hearing went well for Luke.

At the immunity hearing, the prosecution made a series of ludicrous claims in order to prop up their case. They made a point of asking every witness whether or not the term “faggot” was offensive, or just a synonym for other “non-offensive” terms like “pussies or bitches,” and later used the word “nigger” as another example of a “non-offensive” term. The prosecution’s attempt to neutralize such blatantly homophobic words make it clear that the New Year’s incident is not a singular event, but part of a greater social problem of homophobia.

Since the May 13th immunity hearing, one of the so-called victims in Luke’s trial was seen in footage of a horrific transphobic attack which occurred just outside of the Stratosphere skate shop in Little 5 Points, a neighborhood in northeast Atlanta. This attack captured the interests of media outlets and provoked outrage in many Atlantans. Just a few weeks prior to this attack, two trans women were accosted, beaten, and stripped nude on a MARTA train by a group of men while on their way home. We find these attacks disturbing and wrong — and hope that the incident involving Luke will be understood as a part of this larger context. Following the denial of immunity, the case will now move on to trial by jury. Although Luke was denied immunity, we are still hopeful that the trial will proceed favorably for Luke. While the burden of evidence for the immunity hearing rested upon the defense (Luke and his lawyer and witnesses), the burden of evidence for the trial will rest on the prosecution. At trial, arguments for self-defense can still be made. We have just received notice that the trial will begin on Monday, August 11.

In the year and a half since the incident, much has been accomplished: the original media narrative which painted Luke as a deranged aggressor was successfully challenged; over thirteen thousand dollars have been raised; and people across the country and the world have displayed their support. In the week and a half until trial, we have a lot more to do. We ask for your continued support in whatever ways you can provide it:

- We are still $200 short for legal fees. This is a menial sum compared with the amount that has been raised since Luke was first arrested, but we still need to cover this cost. Any amount will help. You can donate here. – There will soon be a pre-written postcard that everyone can send to the judge (through Luke’s lawyer) presiding over Luke’s case. The postcard is an effort to make clear to the judge that many people are watching and care about Luke’s case. Although a jury will decide the verdict (guilty or not) on Luke’s case, the judge will give the sentence. Letters of support and appeal to the judge may therefore have influence over Luke’s sentencing in case of a guilty verdict. The postcard will be available in both print and online form. – If you are able to make it to court at 9AM on Monday, August 11, please do. Our presence at court will demonstrate to the judge and jury that Luke has many supporters who love and care about him and the issue at stake. Court will be held at the Superior Court of Fulton County, 136 Pryor Street, S.W., Suite C-640. Please come in appropriate court attire. – Please stay tuned for updates on Luke. Whether it be for a happy celebration or the beginning of long-term support, Luke will continue to need your help after the trial.

Free Marius Jacob Mason

We would like to let everyone know that Marius Jacob Mason will no longer be using the name Marie, and will be using male pronouns. We hope that you will all join us in supporting Marius through this transition, which will no doubt be extra challenging within the prison system. Until his name is legally changed, any mail sent to Marius in prison will still need to be addressed to ‘Marie Mason’ on…

“Bædan – issue two

We are very pleased to announce the release of the second issue of the journal Bædan, as well as the free distribution of the first issue through the Anarchist Library.

In many ways, Bædan – a queer journal of heresy picks up where Bædan – journal of queer nihilism left off. Much remains invariant: the form, a general disposition toward hostility, and of course fiery gestures against Gender and Civilization (and all the theories, views of history, and identities which hold them together). Bædan – a queer journal of heresy, does however, take leave of the first by exploring new inquiries and critiques. In this issue we take aim at all manner of radical dogmas, ideologies, and sciences, while also exploring the the worlds of poetics, archetypes, and myth. The new issue is also an engagement with a constellation of recent anarchist endeavors to explore the hell we all inhabit. We remain obviously inspired by conversations within the anti-civilization and nihilist milieu, by recent developments in anarchist thought, by correspondence and critique, and by the actions and words of comrades who are imprisoned or remain at large.

If the first issue of Bædan was a knife thrust wildly in the dark, the second is an effort to examine our enemies in a new light; enemies who bear scars yet endure. In a sense, this issue follows through our initial attack and pushes beyond our own horrors at the consequences of words. We write at a time when everything which seemed slightly possible two years ago has borne its rotten fruit; when queer recuperation has become more powerful and accepted than ever, while the fetish for technology has reached an unprecedented frenzy; when so many efforts at subversion languish under the tyranny of cybernetic identity and aesthetics (even our own etymologies have become identities!); when friends turn away out of fear of the unknown, turn toward all the comforts and certainties of the past (identity politics, traditionalism, religious morality, activism, et al). The old enemies rear their heads and the terrain is as bleak as ever. And yet we take seriously that adage: “There’s no need to fear or hope, but only to look for new weapons.”

Bædan – a queer journal of heresy, over two hundred pages of original content including: a scathing critique of gender and domestication, an exploration of the poetry of Percy Shelley, a vindication of anality and the fecal decomposition of society, an experiment with anarchist rituals and nihilist archetypes, correspondence (friendly and otherwise), and a new translation of Guy Hocquenghem.

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Bædan – a queer journal of heresy is available from LBC: littleblackcart.com/baedan-2.html

Bædan – journal of queer nihilism can be found for online at: theanarchistlibrary.org/authors/baedan

If you are in Seattle or the Bay Area you can also contact us directly for copies.

[the name of the journal][at]riseup[dot]net