I’ve read so many people calling Zach a hater and construing the term of rape, that I finally felt the need to write in (“Double standards in reaction to rape,” Oct. 24). Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines rape as sexual intercourse without consent and chiefly by force or deception. This definition is what is used most often, especially in cases of intoxication, and/or drugs. As was definitely the case with these two men. The two men were in fact intoxicated, and thus “Gwen” took advantage of them. There are men who are taken to jail for taking advantage of women under the influence of substances, and those women were quite consenting at the time of intercourse.

This does not mean I think murder was needed, because that is going a little overboard, but a hate crime? A hate crime is usually a crime done strictly for reasons that the person is a member of a certain group, in this case homosexuals, and we all know there is more involved than just Eddie being transgendered. I am on the side of groups like the LGBTAA, but from the point that they are free to do as they want, and have their own lifestyles. But Eddie certainly went beyond his own lifestyle, and violated someone else’s.

What this act of murder does appear to be, is a crime of passion. An act committed when the two men were under a lot of emotional distress at having found that they had been taken advantage of. Yes, they over-reacted, but they were definitely in a very emotional state.

To summarize — murder: definitely, rape: most likely, hate crime: not even close, crime of passion: possibly.

Heath Henning

Junior

Computer Science