On August 18, 1978 three gay teens, two of them in drag, were walking to a Beacon Hill apartment when they heard screams coming from the Arlington Street T station. Two men came out of the station and ran to their cars. When Larry Brown called out their license plate numbers to his friends, the two men chased them down, beat and kicked them, and shouting, “This is for Anita Bryant.”
When the police finally arrived, the three youths learned that the men who had beaten them were actually Boston police officers: John Gillespie and Thomas Clifford. Patrol officers then arrested the victims, with Gillespie and Clifford going free. On the way back to the station, the arresting officers threatened to dump the youths “in the Charles River or the Blue Hills” saying: “queers have no right to live.”
Then Massachusetts State Rep. Barney Frank demanded an investigation, the BPD’s Internal Affairs Division obliged. They found Clifford and Gillespie guilty of physical and verbal abuse against the young men, failing to submit incident reports, and submitting false statements to their commanders and to IAD. Lt. Ralph Maglio was also found guilty of neglecting his responsibilities as a duty supervisor and of making false statements to IAD.
BPD Commissioner Joseph M. Jordan suspended Clifford and Gillespie for three months without pay. Maglio received a one week suspension without pay.
Jordon’s action made it the first time Boston police officers had ever been disciplined for abusing gay people
1905: Dag Hammarskjold, the second Secretary-General of the United Nations (1953-1961), is born in in Jonkoping, Sweden. Hammarskjold will die in a plane crash in what was then the Belgian Congo under mysterious circumstances in 1961 . Secretary General Hammarskjold is the first SG to die while holding office. President John F Kennedy referred to him as “The greatest statesman of our century,” and he was posthumously awarded the 1961 Nobel Peace Prize. While it is rumored that Hammarskjold was homosexual, it never seems to have been proven in any consequential way. Still, we honor his birthday here for the amazing leaps he made toward world peace as the Secretary General.
1967: Ian Campbell Dunn writes to Antony Grey, secretary of the Homosexual Law Reform Society in London, about establishing a chapter in Scotland. Grey refuses because of problems with another branch.
1975: The Annual Conference of the Metropolitan Community Church is held in Dallas, Texas. Among the speakers was Elaine Noble, who was the first person to be elected to public office while running openly as a lesbian. Noble was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives for two terms starting in January 1975. She was the first openly lesbian or gay candidate elected to a state legislature
1981: Tennis player Martina Navratilova is outed by reporter Steve Goldstein of the New York Daily News. But comes out publicly through a column written by Skip Bayless. After all is said and done very few are surprised she’s a lesbian. And very few actually care.
1984: John O’Connell is brutally murdered by five men who drove to San Francisco looking for “some fags to beat up.” The assailants were convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to prison terms of 15 years to life.
A 9 p.m. in the Polk Street district, a favorite area of homosexuals, two men walking along the street were accosted by four of the Vallejo group, one of them shouting anti-homosexual epithets.
John O’Connell, 42, suffered two blows and fell to the pavement. The medical evidence was that it was the fall, not the blows, that produced the cerebral trauma that caused death.
The defendants left the scene laughing
In 1989 a California Court of Appeal, in a 2-1 decision, reduced the convictions to involuntary manslaughter, ruling that the two bare-handed blows struck by the assailants in a 1984 sidewalk attack were not sufficiently life-threatening .
“The appeal court said correctly that a slap and a punch do not make a murder,” said Maureen R. Kallins, a San Francisco lawyer. “This was a classic example of a hysterical jury verdict . . . and a classic example of being tried by the press.”
1986: Chicago’s city council defeats a gay rights bill by a vote of 30-18.
1987: U.S. President Ronald Reagan nominates homophobic judge Robert Bork to the US Supreme Court. He would be rejected by the senate 58-42.
1987: The International Lesbian and Gay Association’s 9th annual conference begins in Cologne, West Germany.
1993: Seven years after legalizing gay sex, New Zealand’s parliament amends the Human Rights Commission Amendment Act, outlawing discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation (“heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual or lesbian”) or HIV, passing Parliament after only 1 1/2 days of debate but intensive lobbying. It exempted the Government until December 31, 1999.
1998: Famed choreographer and director Jerome Robbins (pictured above), dies at age 79, four days after suffering a stroke. Among the numerous stage productions he worked on during his career were On the Town, Peter Pan, High Button Shoes, The King And I, The Pajama Game, Bells Are Ringing, West Side Story, Gypsy: A Musical Fable, and Fiddler on the Roof. Robbins was a five time Tony Award winner and a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors. Robbins also received two Academy Awards, including the 1961 Academy Award for Best Director with Robert Wise for West Side Story.
But not all was success and high-points for Robbins. In the 1950’s, Robbins found himself swept into the whirlwind of the McCarthy era and, as a former Communist, pressured by the FBI to name the names of party associates at hearings held by The House Committee on Un-American Activities. (HUAC). For three years he resisted. But threatened by exposure of his homosexuality, he at length agreed to testify before HUAC and named eight people. Robbins himself never spoke of his testimony publicly; in his journal he wrote, “Maybe I will never find a satisfying release from the guilt of it all.”
1998: The U.S. House of Representatives votes 214-212 in favor of a bill to withhold federal housing money to San Francisco because of the city’s policy welcoming private companies contracting with the city that offer domestic partner benefits equal to those offered to married employees.
2002: The federal government of Canada decides to appeal an Ontario Superior Court ruling which supported gay marriages. Less than a year later the government loses the appeal and introduces legislation legalizing gay marriage.
2003: Bishop Fred Henry of the Catholic diocese of Calgary, Alberta, in Canada, warns Canada’s (straight) catholic Prime Minister that the PM risks jeopardizing his “eternal salvation” by introducing legislation legalizing gay marriage. Prime Minister Jean Chretien ignores the warning and introduces the legislation anyway.
2006: The first World Outgames opens in Montreal, Quebec, with about 18,600 participants from 111 countries as conference delegates, athletes, volunteers or participants. About a half million spectators attended the Outgames, an athletic event set up after a quarrel with the long-established Gay Games.
According to police reports the assailant punched “Victim 1” in the head and slammed the victim against a glass window. Victim 1 was knocked unconscious and needed staples in his head to close the laceration.
Timothy Luke identified himself on Facebook as one of the victims. Luke said that his husband Andy Jackson and their friend Jeremy Austin were also the victims of the attack.
To our dear family and friends,
As many of you know, Andy and I are not individuals that like to post a lot on social media, especially when it comes to our personal lives. However, I am compelled to share this story of hate in hopes of opening the eyes of many into this sick world that for which we live.
On Thursday evening, my husband Andy, our dear friend Jeremy, and myself were victims of an assault. Many homosexual and derogatory slurs were stated during this attack, however, I am unable to firmly state whether this was a hate crime or just a heinous attack. After spending many hours in the ER until early Friday morning, Jeremy and I are lucky to have walked away with minor injuries. However, Andy was not as fortunate. A severe concussion and 7 staples on his scalp later, I was able to bring him home. Today is a much better day — and we have been able to speak to our families to let them know we are okay. Thus, I felt it was time to write this message.
Whether we see it or witness it personally, hate occurs every day in so many forms. For some reason, there are many individuals in this world that want to hate and cause division because of the differences between us. Rather, we should celebrate our diversity and open our eyes to how our differences can better our world.
The last 36 hours have been a series of emotions — fear of leaving the apartment, blessed that the injuries sustained were not as bad as what they could have been, anger for the hate that is promoted within our community, but most importantly — HOPE. We have decided to not allow this to define us. Yet, we are going to continue to use the fear and anger from this event and put that energy into continuing to make a positive difference.
What I ask of each of you is to help us do the same. Support one another. Allow others to express and be themselves. Accept each other’s differences. LOVE one another.
This event will not stop us — so, I urge each of you to stand with us as we turn this pain into courage and strength. We will not hide who we are; yet, we will continue to be resilient and to fight for the safety and rights for ALL human beings.
We love you all. Thank you for your love and support.
Always,
Luke and Andy
D.C. Police have asked that anyone who has any information about the attack call (202) 727-9099.
Suffolk, County Police are offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest of a a group of men who perpetrated a horrific anti-LGBT hate crime against Kimberly Page of Patchogue, Long Island and her girlfriend on July 7th.
Page said she had been socializing with friends and co-workers in a Patchogue bar before the assault. The two women left the bar and were on a walkway near the Patchogue-Medford Library when they were confronted by four men. One of the men made lewd comments to her girlfriend, Page said, and questioned why a woman would want to be with another female. She and her partner tried to ignore the men, Page said.”
Page briefly lost consciousness as she was attacked while the men bashed her head on the concrete ground multiple times while spewing lewd and anti-gay slurs . One man pinned her girlfriend to the ground, in order for her not to help her.
Anyone with information about the assailants is asked to call 800-220-TIPS, text “SCPD” and your message to “CRIMES” (274637) or email tipsubmit.com.
A gay couple in Austin, TX were brutally attacked in downtown Austin in the early hours of Saturday morning. Both were hospitalized for their injuries.
Spencer Deehring and Tristan Perry say they were holding hands with each after leaving a friends birthday party Friday night, as they had just left the Rain nightclub on 4th Street at around 2:45 a.m. when a man walked past them and said a homophobic slur to them.
Deehring saying something like “I’m sorry I couldn’t hear you.”
Then he said that man called over to his group of friends who were out of sight, motioned for them to come over, and within a few seconds, the group was following Deehring and Perry as they walked to their car
“They started following behind us pretty closely yelling every expletive you can think of,” Deehring said. That’s when Deehring said one of the men punched Perry in the face, breaking his nose and causing him to fall to his knees. Next, he recalls two other men stepped in and hit Perry again until he was laying on the ground. Then, Deehring said another man kicked Perry in the back of the head.
Deehring said he immediately tried to tackle the men who were attacking his boyfriend. Deehring was then knocked unconscious by the men punching him.
A bystander called 911 and waited there until police and EMS arrived. Both Deehring and Perry were hospitalized.
“If the bystander had not been there [the attackers] may have continued, it may have been much worse,” Deehring said.
Tristan Perry suffered a laceration on the back of his head, his nose is broken, he has swelling in his face up to his cheekbones, his lip is busted, his teeth are chipped, he has neck and upper back pain and his memory has some lapses.
Spencer Deehring has swelling to his mouth and jaw as well as lacerations on his forehead that required skin glue. He also has bruising from blows to the back of his head and neck.
The attackers have not been found at the time of this posting.
A unnamed 25 year-old man faces up to 15 years behind bars for assaulting a gay couple in Williamsburg, Brooklyn according to the borough’s top prosecutor, who has charged the defendant with a hate crime.
“This defendant allegedly assaulted an innocent couple simply because he perceived they were gay,” said District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. “Crimes that target individuals because of their sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or other identity are a threat to everything we stand for in Brooklyn.”
According to police reports the unnamed assailant ran after his two victims as they left Lorimer Street’s Metropolitan Bar — a popular watering hole among the local gay community — a little before 1 am on Sept. 23, and allegedly started shouting homophobic slurs, officials said.
The defendant then chased the couple down Metropolitan Avenue, before allegedly hurling both victims to the ground, knocking each unconscious, authorities said.
A good Samaritan called 911 to report the incident, and paramedics rushed both men to Woodhull Hospital, where doctors treated the victims for a fractured and dislocated left shoulder, and a broken finger, according to police.
Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun set the defendant’s bail at $15,000 during his Wednesday arraignment, and ordered him to return to court on Jan. 16
The Second Judicial Department Appellate Division on Wednesday overturned the conviction of Mayer Herskovic’s for last year in the beating of gay black man Taj Patterson, who became blind in one eye as a result of the assault against him on December 2013 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Patterson was walking in Williamsburg, neighborhood when he was attacked by a dozen men who were part of an Orthodox neighborhood watch group.
The men beat Patterson while saying, “Stay down, faggot, stay the fuck down.” He was left blind in one eye after the brutal attack.
The men accused Patterson of vandalizing cars, even though they had not filed a police report and police found the claim of vandalism to be unfounded.
The appeals panel cited Patterson’s “inability to positively identify any of his attackers, the varying accounts regarding the incident, and the DNA evidence, which was less than convincing,” as their reason for overturning the conviction and the indictment.
The judges also found that the DNA testing fell below traditional standards — citing that the lab had relied on less genetic material than normally allowed and that the numbers didn’t definitively point to Herskovic as the attacker.
“We respect the court’s decision,” said a spokesman with the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office.
In order to retry the case, the DA’s office would have to secure a fresh indictment. The office did not immediately indicate whether or not it intended to convene another grand jury.
In June, Mr. Patterson sued the New York Police Department and New York City in federal court, claiming they improperly favored the Shomrim, the Orthodox security patrol to which some of the five alleged assailants.
The lawsuit is still pending in US District Court in Brooklyn.
Porn star and comedian Wesley Woods and his friend was jumped and brutally beaten by 3 straight men in West Hollywood on Wednesday prompting him to take to Twitter and talk about his experience and warn others in the community to be aware of their surrounding and their safety at all times.
Since Donald Trump has taken office and embolden the extreme alt-right the number of hate crimes against the GLBT community have risen at an alarming rate.
No matter where you live and how safe you believe your community to be. Always be on guard and take the proper steps to ensure your safety and well being.
The enemy wants u to be afraid, they want to force you into their idea of normal. I am not, you aren’t, none of us are— “normal.” We live this life the best we can w/ what we’ve been given in hopes of being our true self. Do not hide, fight for your space to exist & ALWAYS be YOU pic.twitter.com/Rlqlh0Wlja
The Miami Herald reports that today that the four men: Pablo Reinaldo Romo-Figueroa, 21, Luis Alonso-Piovet, 20, Juan C. Lopez, 21, and Adonis Diaz, 21 will be charged under Florida’s hate-crime enhancement law..
The group was charged with aggravated battery committed with prejudice, which means each could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted of the attack that took place during Miami Beach’s annual gay-pride parade.”
Under Florida law, aggravated battery is normally a second-degree felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. But if it’s committed because of someone’s sexual orientation, the crime becomes a first-degree felony, punishable by up to 30 years in prison.”
A day after the attack, Miami Beach police released surveillance video of the attack which went viral and was played on many mainstream and gay media outlets.
Three Orange County men are suing Newport Beach’s Balboa Inn after they say they were called a gay slur and assaulted by staff in the hotel’s Italian restaurant earlier this month.
In their lawsuit filed in Orange County Superior Court this week, Angel Bonilla, Colton Moyer and Clement Serafin say they were visiting Balboa Island on April 13 when they decided to stop by Siena Restaurant inside the Balboa Inn for dinner.
The trio was immediately met with hostility from a woman working behind the bar, who “demanded that (the men) show their respective identification cards because she wanted to create a ruse for refusing to serve them when her real motive was to not serve gay men,” according to the lawsuit.
After viewing Serafin’s identification card, the bartender proclaimed that it was fake and then handed it to a person sitting at the bar, apparently a patron, who examined it and “commented loudly that it was ‘definitely a fake,’” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit says Serafin’s identification card is not fake and that he is in his mid-30s.
“This was done with the specific intent to cause humiliation and mental suffering … because they are gay and because Bonilla is Hispanic,” the suit says.
When the men asked to speak with the manager, the bartender shouted for them to “get out” and called the men a gay expletive, according to the lawsuit.
Part of the incident was captured on two cellphone videos. (Warning: The videos below contain graphic language and content.)
In the first video, a woman can be seen saying, “get them out of here,” before a man lifts up Moyer while he’s sitting on a bar stool, pushes him across the restaurant and then tosses him out of the door.
In the second video, the man can be seen yelling at Bonilla to “get out” before he throws him onto the pavement and shouts, “You’ve been warned!”
Bonilla suffered injuries from the incident and his cellphone was broken in the fall, the lawsuit says..
The men are alleging assault, “gay bashing,” civil rights violations and emotional distress. They are seeking an unspecified amount in damages.
