Ball State student says attack was hate crime

by Nick Werner
The Star Press
Indiana

MUNCIE -- A gay Ball State University student said he and his friends were attacked in The Village early Friday morning because of their sexuality.

"I consider it a hate crime," said the student, Kyle Flood.

Flood, 21, Indianapolis, suffered a swollen eye, cuts and bruises and a scratched cornea that required treatment at Ball Memorial Hospital.

No arrests had been made as of Monday.

Ball State University Police Chief Gene Burton said attacks on gay students were rare.

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'Hate crimes' target Jewish, LGBT students

Written by PATRICK McCARTNEY
The California Aggie
UC Davis

A pair of acts of vandalism targeting the Jewish and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities has angered student groups, who have decried the incidents as hate crimes.

At the beginning of last week's La Raza Cultural Days,sophomorepsychology major Joel Juarez placed over 75 posters in Olson, Hart, Wellman and Young halls advertising "Consciencia y Resistancia," an event recognizing the intersection of the queer and Latino identities.
The posters depicted two men embracing each other,but nothing "graphic or offensive," said Juarez, the Gender & Sexuality Coordinator for Yik'al Kuyum, the Chicano/a and Latino/a Holistic Student Support Program for the Student Recruitment and Retention Center.

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Lawyer blames school in shooting of gay Oxnard student

By Catherine Saillant The Los Angeles Times

As 14-year-old Brandon McInerney prepares to be arraigned today in the slaying of 15-year-old Lawrence "Larry" King at E.O. Green Junior High School in Oxnard, his lawyer is advancing a defense that at least partly blames school officials for the tragedy.

Educators should have moved aggressively to quell rising tensions between the two boys, which began when King openly flirted with McInerney, said Deputy Public Defender William Quest.

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Police: on-campus assault could be hate crime

By Andrew Reuter
Exponent Online

Wisconsin: The assault of a UW-Platteville student on campus May 3 has been initially classified as a hate crime.

During the incident, homophobic slurs were used against the student, who is gay.

full article

Wisconsin: Hate crimes nearly double from 1996-2006

Associated Press
The Chicago Tribune

MADISON, Wis. - FBI statistics show the number of hate crimes nearly doubled in Wisconsin from 1996 to 2006.

In 1996, there were 43 hate crime cases. In 2006, the most recent figures available, there were 84.

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Christian spin on Champaign hate crime

All of a sudden right wing Christian websites are stepping up to defend Brett Vanasdlen's alledged attack on Steven Velasquez.

Rev. Ted Pike had this to say on the truth tellers website [article]:

The police department of Champaign, Illinois is reported to be under pressure from higher authorities to increase its quota of hate crimes convictions. Brett Van Asdlen, an 18 year-old Christian college student on a baseball scholarship, didn’t know this. On April 12 he and a friend saw two homosexuals leaning on each other and holding hands, walking toward them on the sidewalk. “Look at those two guys holding hands,” Brett said to his friend and walked past them. According to Brett’s mother, the next thing he knew, one of the homosexuals (whom he perceived to be drunk) had grabbed him by the shoulder, putting his face up to Brett’s and repeatedly shouting, “What did you say?” Brett told him to go away several times and then pushed him. The homosexual fell over backwards. On his back, the homosexual told his partner to call the police. In eight minutes, four officers arrived. Two interviewed Brett and his friend and assured them there would be no problem. Brett had been physically accosted and detained, clearly an assault. The other two officers interviewed the homosexual, who was taken to the hospital.

For those of you, like me, who've never heard of Ted Pike he is director of the National Prayer Network in Clackamas, Oregon. Over at Right Wing Watch they have an article about him.

Since there were several witnesses it will be interesting to see how this all turns out.

Initial story with comments

Community response story

Tennessee anti-gay hate crimes at ‘alarming’ level

by Jerry Jones
Publisher
Out & About

A total of 56 anti-gay hate crimes were reported to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) in 2007, with one of those occurring on the campus of Vanderbilt University. The number is down slightly from 2006, which had 60 reported offenses. In 2005 the number of reported cases was 21.

“That’s a really high level,” said Christopher Sanders, president of the Tennessee Equality Project when asked to review the report by Out & About Newspaper. “The numbers are alarming.”

full article

Residents Say Man's Death Was Hate Crime

by Amy Wagner
WLWT Cincinnati

CINCINNATI -- A group of Tri-State residents said they feel a recent slaying may have been a hate crime, and are asking the community to take a stand.

More than 175 residents have signed on to a full-page ad that will appear in The Enquirer Thursday. They said the ad is meant to memorialize James McGee, a gay man who was attacked at his home and later died of his injuries.

Those behind the ad said his death was a hate crime, though police disagree.

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LGBT community responds to hate crime with peaceful Hug-In

By Stephanie Benhart
Just after 1 a.m. April 12, a man screaming derogatory names at a group of students walking down Green Street attacked University student Steven Velasquez.

Velasquez, sophomore in Business, said the man screamed "faggot," assuming he and a friend walking together with two other students were members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.

They continued walking and Velasquez asked, "Why does he have to be like that?"

The man then grabbed Velasquez and shoved him to the ground, which knocked him unconscious.

Incidents like these are classified as hate crimes or bias incidents, said Kaamilyah Abdullah-Span, assistant dean of students. A bias incident is motivated by membership in a particular group, whether it is ethnic, racial or sexual orientation-based, but is not punishable by law.

Hate crimes are motivated by a person's bias, but fall into criminal categories, she said.

In response to the most recent attack, a Hug-In was held along Green Street on Friday night, sponsored by Pride and the Office of LGBT affairs. The Hug-In featured LGBT community students and their allies offering free hugs to anyone walking on Green Street. They were also handing out cookies, flowers, Hershey's hugs and kisses and handbills with hate crime information.


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backstory

California Teen could be charged with hate crime

Times-Delta/Advance-Register

A Tulare teenager suspected of robbery could also be charged with committing a hate crime, police said.

Two youths, ages 13 and 14, were skateboarding at Tulare Western High School on Friday evening when they were approached by three older juveniles, who began harassing them, police said.

Police said one of the older boys, who was later identified as the robber, attacked the 13-year-old, grabbing him by the head, placing him in a head lock, throwing him to the ground and punching him in the face — before beating him with a skateboard.

Police said the accused robber, addressing the older of the two victims, used a slur tied to sexual orientation.

Officers later tracked down the 16-year-old still in possession of the two skateboards.

Two additional suspects remain free.


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Man fell to his death after attack, jury told

By Simon Jones

Court reporter

United Kingdom: A JURY has heard the 999 call a gay man made moments before he fell to his death after an alleged homophobic attack.

Malcolm Bryan pleaded with police to come to his home at Crown Court, Milton, Portsmouth, as Robert Horn shouted abuse at him, Winchester Crown Court heard.

The 999-call tape ends with a banging sound and the operator trying to get a response from Mr Bryan.

The jury heard that the 67-year-old suffered a fatal heart attack as his partner, Martin Gray, screamed for help.

The court heard Horn, 49, confronted Mr Bryan and Mr Gray as they returned home just before midnight on September 20, 2006.

The jury was told that Horn, who denies manslaughter and affray, got in the lift with the two men before they tried to bundle him out.

It is alleged he hurled homophobic abuse and threats at Mr Bryan and Mr Gray as he pursued them. Horn then confronted Mr Bryan at the top of a flight of steps and either hit him or pushed him, the jury was told.

Prosecutor Christopher Parker QC said Mr Bryan suffered a heart attack and fell down the stairs.

full article

LGBT Groups: Try Lawrence King's Killer as a Juvenile

LOS ANGELES, CA -- Lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans activists have issued a statement asking the Ventura County, CA, district attorney to try the 14-year old murderer of gay teenager Lawrence King as a juvenile.



In a joint statement, 27 LGBT activist groups, including Lambda Legal, The National Center for Lesbian Rights, GLSEN, and The Transgender Law Center, now urges the DA to try McInerney in juvenile court:



"We are saddened and outraged by the murder of junior high school student Lawrence King. At the same time, we call on prosecutors not to compound this tragedy with another wrong, we call on them to treat the suspect as a juvenile, not as an adult.



"The facts in this matter seem clear: one boy killed another in a climate of intolerance and fear about sexual orientation and gender expression. The alleged perpetrator, who turned 14 years old less than three weeks before the shooting, should be held accountable for his actions.



"But we support the principles underlying our juvenile justice system that treat children differently than adults and provide greater hope and opportunity for rehabilitation. California law does not require District Attorneys to prosecute 14 year-olds as adults, even in circumstances such as these, and we oppose them doing so.



"We are issuing this joint statement because we believe so strongly in principles of justice that protect all our young people and know that, even in the face of strong emotions, we should not abandon them.



"We refuse to let our sense of outrage blind us to the fact that the suspect is only 14 years old."

full article

Illinois: Hate Crime in Champaign

CHAMPAIGN- Emotional words from the victim of a hate crime. It happened on Green street in Champaign just after one in the morning on Saturday. Police arrested Brett Vanasdlen and he was in court Monday. They say he made comments about the student being gay and then pushed him to the ground.

Steven Velasquez is a student at the U of I. He was walking with friends when he says he was attacked for his sexual orientation. He says in this day and age he couldn't believe this could happen and even worse on campus where he thought he was safe.

He was walking down Green street with two girls and another guy when a man started yelling at them for being gay. "It upset me so much that he had no idea who I was, I didn't even try to stick up for myself, I ignored him to go on with his action and throw me to the ground it was such a shock."

"Yes this happened but I have to move on I can't let it affect me because it will take over and inhibit my ability to embrace who I am." Velasquez was released from the hospital the following day Doctors say he was knocked out unconscious and suffered from some head trauma. The man arrested.. Brett Vanasdlen is charged with a hate crime. He's out on bond.

full article

Video Report

Clemson's One World Project a bright spot

Susie Smith / Faith and Values Advisory Board member

South Carolina: As a new pastor in town, I was delighted to participate in Clemson University’s One World Project.

This campuswide initiative began in 2000 as a result of some graduate students’ experience in an educational counseling class where they discussed the causes and effects of hate. Because those students believed that they could actually make a difference and chose to act on this belief, the One World Project evolved into a forum for the entire campus and community.

Based on the belief that hate is not innate, the One World Project promotes greater awareness and acceptance of our differences in terms of gender, race, age, religion, ethnic background and sexual orientation.

How could one not be affected walking onto Bowman Field at Clemson and seeing 7,772 different colored flags representing actual hate crimes that occurred in our nation in 2006? How could one not be affected moving through the Tunnel of Oppression and at least imagining what it might be like to be inside the skin of various minority groups?

How could one not be affected listening to the stories of gay and lesbian individuals and their families and hearing the painful things inflicted upon them in the name of religion?

Ten years ago, three young men dragged James Byrd Jr. to his death behind their pickup truck in Jasper, Texas. Four months later, University of Wyoming student, Matthew Shepard, was fatally attacked outside of Laramie.

Lest we think such tragedies are a thing of the past, may we not forget that Sean Kennedy would have celebrated his 21st birthday this past Tuesday had he not been the victim of yet another hate crime last May 16 in Greenville. Another young man called him a “faggot” and punched him so hard that it broke his face bones and sent him crashing down to the asphalt. Sean never regained consciousness.

I pray the day will come soon when such violence will come to an end as we prove to ourselves and each other that hate is not innate.

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23-year-old man, underage girlfriend arrested in hate crime

A 23-year-old Redlands man was arrested and a 15-year-old girl also cited in connection with an arson and hate crime.

At about 11 p.m. Monday, April 7, police and firefighters responded to a call of a vehicle fire in an apartment complex in the 1400 block of Barton Road. Upon arrival, police found that a sock had been lit on fire and thrown onto the hood of a 1996 Ford Explorer. The fire was quickly extinguished with damage limited to the vehicle’s hood. Police also found a derogatory term referring to homosexuals written across the vehicle’s hood in black marker.

On Tuesday, investigators contacted the suspect’s 15-year-old girlfriend, who also lives in the complex. The girl admitted that she and the suspect, 23-year-old Chuck Varvel III, had been walking in the complex Monday night when they came upon a sock lying in the parking lot. The girl said Varvel lit the sock before throwing it onto the victim’s vehicle, while making derogatory comments about the victim’s sexual orientation. She initially denied that she or Varvel wrote anything on the hood of the victim’s vehicle but later admitted that she had done so several days before the arson.

Varvel was arrested for arson and hate crime with damage to personal property. He was transported to West Valley Detention Center with bail set at $500,000.

The juvenile was cited for the hate crime and released to her parents.

Anyone with further information is asked to contact Detective Stephen Crane at (909) 798-7659 or Redlands Police Dispatch at (909) 798-7681.

full article

Egypt court jails five men for debauchery

CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian court on Wednesday convicted and jailed five men arrested on morals charges in what rights groups have described as an escalating crackdown on Egyptians living with HIV.

Court sources said the men, four of whom are HIV-positive, were sentenced to three years in jail for the "habitual practice of debauchery", a charge rights groups say is used in Egypt to criminalise consensual homosexual sex acts.

The men were also fined 300 Egyptian pounds ($55) each, court sources said. They said one of the men was convicted on an additional charge of facilitating debauchery.
Human Rights Watch said Egyptian authorities had detained a total of 12 men since October in what it called a "spreading hunt for people suspected of being HIV-positive". The rights group said the men had been mistreated.

Human Rights Watch said Egyptian government doctors, in violation of medical ethics, had tested all the men for HIV without their consent. It said they also performed "forcible and abusive ... examinations" on them to prove they had engaged in homosexual sex.

Rights groups said several of the men had told their lawyers that police and guards had beaten them in detention, and that a prosecutor had told one of them: "People like you should be burnt alive. You do not deserve to live".

They said that the men who tested HIV-positive were chained to hospital beds for months.

According to a 2004 study, the majority of Egypt's health workers believe those with HIV should be removed from society, while most university students think "lewd" people or those with "neither values nor principles" are likeliest to get AIDS.

full article

The Butcher's Bill 2008

BUTCHER'S BILL 2008

8 DEAD

9 INJURED

APRIL

• Two men were in their apartment when a family of 3 broke in and began pushing and punching while shouting "anti-gay epithets"

MARCH

• Two gay men were attacked by a neighbor while working on their car. Santos-Coy allegedly struck one man in the face repeatedly before picking up a wrought iron table and swinging it at the couple.
• One man was arrested and his brother is being sought by authorities after the pair attacked two men because of their sexual orientation
• Lance Neve said he was in the bar minding his own business and was then attacked.“I was punched and I went to the floor,” Lance said. “He continued to beat my head into the floor.”

FEBURARY

• Billy J. Kyne, of 150 Clinton St., Apt. D-5, on the head with a beer bottle and allegedly yelled "go home faggot" during a fight early Feb 23. at the Paddock Club, 1 Public Square, New York.
• Sanesha Stewart stabbed to death, in her home (New York) by Steve McMillian who had been seeing her
• 15-year-old Lawrence King was shot in the head by another student in Oxnard, CA
• 48-year-old Alejandro Fuentes Mejia was reportedly tortured, beaten with rocks, and suffocated in Mexico
• 17-year-old Simmie Williams was transgendered and was known in the area by the first name of "Chris" or "Beyonce." Williams, a Fort Lauderdale resident, was walking down the street in a dress and was shot about 12:45 a.m.. He was buried in male attire.
• Also in Fort Lauderdale and less then 24 hours after Simmie Williams was shot to death, Melbourne Brunner was beaten outside The Floridian 24-hour diner by a man who shouted anti-gay slurs at him and his partner.

JANUARY

• 18-year-old Adolphus Simmons . It was about 8 p.m. when Mary Ivory heard a commotion outside the apartment complex. A few doors down, Simmons lay on the ground with gunshot wounds. Simmons, a former student at Stall High School, was pronounced dead at Medical University Hospital at 9:08 p.m.
• Alexio Bello, a 68 yor old gay man, was found stabbed to death at his home in Miami, Florida
• Patrick "Patricia" Murphy was shot three times in Albuquerque, NM. He was an icon in the local drag community.
• An unidentified transgender woman was shot and killed in Detroit. Police have not released the name although there are claims of police mishandling the case.
  

Massachusetts: Family arraigned on hate crime charges

WORCESTER— Three family members were arraigned yesterday on charges stemming from an alleged assault last summer that police are categorizing as a hate crime motivated, at least in part, by an anti-gay bias.

A lawyer for one of the suspects said, however, that the event in question was nothing more than “a dispute between a landlord and a former tenant.”

Roger P. West Sr., 67, and his daughter, 40-year-old Penny G. West, are accused of forcing their way into a man’s Institute Road apartment Aug. 30. Ms. West allegedly struck and pushed the man while using anti-gay epithets and what investigators referred to as “hate language” with the intent to intimidate because of what she perceived as his sexual orientation.

The father and daughter are also accused of punching another man in the apartment in his face and body. Mr. West’s son, Roger P. West Jr., 45, is also alleged to have assaulted and directed anti-gay epithets at the first man with the intent to intimidate, according to police accounts.

The elder Mr. West was arraigned yesterday morning in Central District Court on charges of breaking and entering with intent to commit a misdemeanor and assault and battery.

Ms. West was arraigned on charges of assault and battery, breaking and entering with intent to commit a misdemeanor, and assault and battery with intent to intimidate based on race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or disability.

Roger P. West Jr. was arraigned on a charge of assault with intent to intimidate based on race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or disability.

Judge Robert W. Gardner Jr. released all three on personal recognizance and continued their cases to May 7.

full article

February gets another statistic

It would appear February has a new entry.

Feb 9th - New York- Sanesha Stewart - Killed
Feb 12th - California - Lawrence King - Killed
Feb 22nd - Florida - Simmie Williams - Killed
Feb 23rd - Florida - Melbourne Brunner - injured
Feb 23rd - New York - Billy J. Kyn - injured


Man Accused of Hitting Another on Head with Beer Bottle During Feb. 23 Fight at Paddock Club

WATERTOWN — Richard Fields, 49, was charged early Friday morning by Watertown police with second-degree assault, a felony, and second-degree harassment.
Police said he is accused of hitting Billy J. Kyne, on the head with a beer bottle and allegedly yelled "go home faggot" during a fight early Feb 23. at the Paddock Club, 1 Public Square.

Mr. Fields awaits prosecution in City Court.

The Butcher's Bill 2008

BUTCHER'S BILL 2008

8 DEAD

7 INJURED




MARCH

• Two gay men were attacked by a neighbor while working on their car. Santos-Coy allegedly struck one man in the face repeatedly before picking up a wrought iron table and swinging it at the couple.
• One man was arrested and his brother is being sought by authorities after the pair attacked two men because of their sexual orientation
• Lance Neve said he was in the bar minding his own business and was then attacked.“I was punched and I went to the floor,” Lance said. “He continued to beat my head into the floor.”

FEBURARY

• Billy J. Kyne, of 150 Clinton St., Apt. D-5, on the head with a beer bottle and allegedly yelled "go home faggot" during a fight early Feb 23. at the Paddock Club, 1 Public Square, New York.
• Sanesha Stewart stabbed to death, in her home (New York) by Steve McMillian who had been seeing her
• 15-year-old Lawrence King was shot in the head by another student in Oxnard, CA
• 48-year-old Alejandro Fuentes Mejia was reportedly tortured, beaten with rocks, and suffocated in Mexico
• 17-year-old Simmie Williams was transgendered and was known in the area by the first name of "Chris" or "Beyonce." Williams, a Fort Lauderdale resident, was walking down the street in a dress and was shot about 12:45 a.m.. He was buried in male attire.
• Also in Fort Lauderdale and less then 24 hours after Simmie Williams was shot to death, Melbourne Brunner was beaten outside The Floridian 24-hour diner by a man who shouted anti-gay slurs at him and his partner.

JANUARY

• 18-year-old Adolphus Simmons . It was about 8 p.m. when Mary Ivory heard a commotion outside the apartment complex. A few doors down, Simmons lay on the ground with gunshot wounds. Simmons, a former student at Stall High School, was pronounced dead at Medical University Hospital at 9:08 p.m.
• Alexio Bello, a 68 yor old gay man, was found stabbed to death at his home in Miami, Florida
• Patrick "Patricia" Murphy was shot three times in Albuquerque, NM. He was an icon in the local drag community.
• An unidentified transgender woman was shot and killed in Detroit. Police have not released the name although there are claims of police mishandling the case.