Photo: Benjamin Medrano | Josh Helfgott: BREAKING – Mexico’s first openly gay mayor was just shot in the head inside an ice cream shop in Guadalajara. He wasn’t identified for two days. It happened the night of July 7. Benjamin Medrano was getting ice cream when a gunman wearing a motorcycle helmet walked in, shot him in the head at close range, and fled on a motorcycle.
Neighbors reported hearing several shots. By the time emergency crews arrived, he was already dead at the scene, as El Universal’s Irma Mejía first reported.
He was 59. The prosecutor’s office in Zacatecas later confirmed he died from a gunshot wound to the skull. Because he wasn’t carrying identification, his body went unidentified until early Friday, when a relative confirmed who he was.
Medrano’s life was a first for the country. Born in Nochistlán into a poor family with eleven siblings, he toured Mexico and the United States as a child musician, later recorded albums of ranchera and ballads, and ran a gay nightclub in Fresnillo.
In 2013 he was elected mayor of Fresnillo becoming the first openly gay citizen in Mexico’s history elected municipal president.
He was against gay marriage and regarding his sexuality he said “It’s not like I’m going to paint city hall pink.”
Logan Richard Toubeaux-Handy: Okay, so I looked into it. Benjamín Medrano was not truly against gay marriage. || From Google: “When Medrano took office, Fresnillo was consumed by a brutal turf war between the Gulf and Sinaloa cartels. He firmly believed that focusing on an LGBTQ+ social agenda was a distraction when his constituents’ primary concern was literal survival and police reform. He noted that his job was to ensure human development “regardless of sexual orientation” rather than pushing for marriage specific legislation.”
He ran to protect his home town from an immediate threat. His platform was about changing the danger, not social activism.
Braxton Braun: At least we know it was unlikely he was shot for being gay. It’s uncommon for a gay person to not believe in marriage for all but to each their own
Laura Scarborough: Gay, straight or whatever. He was a human and there’s nothing funny about this. He didn’t deserve it. There’s a time and place for jokes. I’m a dark humor kinda gal, but even I know my limits. I respect human life
[Thanks to Dr. Annette Cannon for this information. Https://www.jmoonpromotions.com]
Photo: Benjamin Medrano
