"My Lesbianism is an Act of Christian Charity. All Those Women out There Praying for a Man, and I'm Giving Them My Share." ~Rita Mae Brown

A boost for gay rights in South Africa? 4 men have been sentenced to 18 years in jail for stabbing and stoning to death an openly lesbian 19 year old woman. BBC News. The important fact in this case is that the court recognised that the killing was a homophobic hate crime. A first time this has happened in a criminal court in South Africa. As with all problems recognition is the first step to recovery. Let's hope this paves the way for other convictions of homophobic attacks.