Nevada: Man who allegedly killed his 14-year-old son for being gay appears in court

A man who allegedly shot and killed his 14-year-old son for being gay appeared in court in Nevada on Wednesday, November 6.

53-year-old father Wendell Melton was arrested and accused of the murder of his son Giovanni on November 2 2017, but is yet to go to trial and is currently under house arrest.

According to Advocate, he faces charges of open murder, felony possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, and first-degree felony child abuse.

Wendell originally claimed that he shot and killed his son by accident and that he didn’t mean to fire the gun, but Giovanni’s mother Veronica Melton told KTNV that she disagrees.

She said her former husband “always trying to find out if my son was gay”, and that Giovanni had come to her two months before his death. She believes that he came out to his father around the same time.

She added: “He couldn’t deal with it because, when I was married to him, he would make very disparaging remarks against people that were gay, and to me I know that he was homophobic.”

Veronica said said a hate crime enhancement should also be added to the list of crimes Wendell is accused of.

Giovanni’s former foster mother, Sonja Jones, previously said: “Giovanni was abused physically and mentally and spiritually for many, many years.”

She added that Wendell “hated” that his son was gay and that she was “sure that inside of his mind, he would rather have a dead son than a gay son”.

Jones said she had spoken to a family member who confirmed that an argument had ensued over Giovanni’s sexual orientation.

Veronica wants to attend the trial, but said: “I’m hoping to but it’s hard, it’s very difficult for me… I would give anything to have my son.

“When my son died, I died. I died that day. My heart was broken.”

Source: Pink News, Lily Wakefield, November 11, 2019

'Homophobic' Man Accused Of Murdering His Teenage Gay Son Appears In Court

A man who has been accused of murdering his teenage son allegedly because he was gay has appeared in court.

Two years ago, Wendell Melton was arrested for the alleged murder of his 14-year-old son Giovanni and his mother, Veronica, claims her partner shot and killed their son because he was gay.

While speaking to Las Vegas ABC affiliate KTNTV, Veronica said: “When my son died, I died. I died that day. My heart was broken.

“When I was married to him, he would make very disparaging remarks against people that were gay, and to me I know that he was homophobic.”

Wendell – who appeared in a Nevada court last week – claimed Giovanni’s death was an accident after an argument got physical and said he didn’t mean to pull the trigger.

Veronica said her son had come out to her two months before he was murdered.

Wendell – who has been on house arrest since last year – faces charges of open murder, felony possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and first-degree felony child abuse.

Wendell Melton’s next court appearance is scheduled for February.

Source: attitude.co.uk, Steve Brown, November 11, 2019

Man in Switzerland slashes his 17-year-old son’s throat for being gay

A gay teen, originally from Iraq but living in Switzerland, had his throat slashed by his dad because he was gay, and miraculously survived to tell his story.

According to ViralTab, the 17-year-old lived in Bern, Switzerland, and has been identified by local outlets as Seran M to protect his identity.

He was reportedly attacked by his father, a devout Muslim who has not been named, in their home.

Seran told local reporters he woke up to his dad standing over his bed with a knife screaming: “You are gay? You are gay?” He then began attacking his son and slashed his throat with the weapon.

He managed to fight his father off and neighbours called emergency services. He then had to be airlifted to hospital with severe injuries to his throat, chest, back and arms.

He told local reporters: “Fortunately, my father missed the carotid artery, but the trachea was badly injured. I had to be put in an induced coma.”

Six months later, despite his incredible recovery, he is still reminded of the traumatic attack by visible scarring.

He said: “I see the injuries in the mirror or when I take selfies and appear in snaps. They will accompany me for the rest of my life.”

He added, however, that he is getting therapy and that he actually feels like “a freer person than before”.

The teenager said he had always hidden his sexual orientation from his family because he knew it would be difficult for his family to reconcile his sexuality with their religion, but he never imagined what his father would be capable of.

He is sharing his story to help other LGBT+ people from Islamic backgrounds to seek advice and get help when considering coming out.

He added: “We are living in 2019 and my dad wanted me dead because I am attracted to men. I just cannot accept that. I hid for long enough, this is the end of that now.”

He has now moved to a different area of the city and is living alone. Seran’s father was arrested by local police, but it is unclear what the status of the case is or if he will stand trial.

Source: Pink News, Lily Wakefield, November 11, 2019

Pastor: ‘I would smear feces all over myself if my son married a man’

While speaking at the National Religious Liberties Conference last weekend, Pastor Kevin Swanson told the crowd that he was “not kidding” when he said he’d smear feces all over himself if his son were ever to marry another man.

“There are families, we’re talking Christian families, pastors’ families, elders’ families from good, godly churches,” he preached. “Their sons are rebelling! Hanging out with homosexuals and getting married!“

“And,” he added, “the parents are invited!”

The statement was met with a collective gasp of shock from the audience.

“What would you do if that was the case?” Swanson continued. “Here is what I would do: Sackcloth and ashes at the entrance to the church and I’d sit in cow manure and I’d spread it all over my body. That’s what I would do and I’m not kidding! I’m not laughing!”

“I’m grieving!” Swanson screamed, tears of rage running down his cheeks. “I’m mourning! I’m pointing out the problem!”

“It’s not a gay time,” he continued. “These are the people with the sores! The gaping sores! The sores that are pussy (sic) and gross and people are coming in and carving happy faces on the sores! That’s not a nice thing to do! Don’t you dare carve happy faces on open, pussy (sic) sores!”

We’d include the video but it appears Swanson’s team has since scrubbed it from the internet. Luckily, Rachel Maddow featured a few clips from it on her show earlier this week.

Source: LGBTQ Nation, Staff, November 13, 2019

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