TAMPA - According to a July 14 Planet Out report, a Tampa, Florida man has been accused of abusing his three-year-old son to death in efforts "to prevent him from being gay." According to the report, "Ronnie Paris would shake, wet himself and vomit as his father forced him into a box and repeatedly slapped him on the head in an effort to prevent him from being gay, the child's mother, Nysheerah Paris, testified [July 11, the first day of the man's trial for murder]. The boy was 3 years old when he died from swelling on both sides of the brain on January 28. Ronnie Paris, Jr. is accused of physically abusing the toddler until he slipped into a coma.
Planet Out quoted the boy's aunt, Shanita Powell, as telling the court, "He was trying to teach him how to fight. He was concerned that the child might be gay."
A friend of the defendant's from a Bible study class, Shelton Bostic, told the court "He [the defendant] didn't want him [the child] to be a sissy," according to Planet Out.
"Once again, homophobia has led to homicide," said Sean Kosofsky, director of policy for Michigan's Triangle Foundation. "What does it say about a society when you can murder your own infant for fear he might be gay? This should shock the nation regarding the level of anti-gay animosity that exists in our culture."
