PARIS – Four people have been detained on suspicion of carrying out an attack at a Lille gay bar, the Interior Ministry said Thursday, amid nationwide tensions over a bill that would legalize gay marriage.
Several other people were detained in Paris late Wednesday after a protest against gay marriage that ended with some demonstrators fighting police and damaging cars along the Champs-Elysees avenue.
Legalizing gay marriage was one of President Francois Hollande’s campaign promises, and polls show a majority of voters support the idea, as an increasing number of governments open marriage to same-sex couples.
But opposition to the bill has mounted throughout the French legislative process, largely from conservative groups from France’s conservative heartland. While the protests are largely peaceful, violence has occasionally erupted on the sidelines.
At the same time, gay rights groups say they are seeing an increasing number of anti-gay attacks in recent weeks and months.
Hollande urged calm, expressing concern Thursday about “homophobic acts, violent acts” related to the gay marriage bill while insisting he respects “the right to protest.”
Interior Minister Manuel Valls took a sterner tone, saying in a statement Thursday that he “condemns, with the greatest firmness, the homophobic aggression perpetrated last night in a bar” in Lille. He said the four suspects “clearly belonged to the extreme right movement” and are accused of intentionally targeting gay customers in the bar, punching the bar manager and causing material damage.
In a first reading, both houses of the French parliament have approved the bill that would legalize gay marriage and adoption by same-sex couples. The second reading is taking place this week.
from The Associated Press

Timothy Phares

RICE LAKE, WISCONSIN – A gay employee of Applebee’s in Rice Lake was brutally bashed by the husband of a co-worker, then told by the restaurant’s manager he could not return to work due to publicity surrounding the incident, he said.
Timothy Phares subsequently did return to his job as a server after Greg Flynn, CEO of Apple American Group franchise, intervened on his behalf.
According to Phares and his sister Krista katherine, they were getting out of his car in the parking lot of a Perkins restaurant on March 17 when Rien Hendricks and his wife Shannon Hendricks pulled up behind them in an SUV.
“(Hendricks) was getting out of his vehicle, and he said, ‘Fucking faggot, I’m going to kill you,’” Phares said.
At that point Phares said Hendricks struck him in the head with great force using a 2 x 4 piece of lumber. In a written statement, Krista katherine said she heard her brother’s head smack the pavement, but Tim Phares lost consciousness and doesn’t remember anything else before waking up in the hospital.
Phares suffered head and facial abrasions as well as multiple facial fractures that will ultimately require surgery to implant metal plates, he said.
Hendricks, 36, of Rice Lake, was taken into custody following the attack and charged with substantial battery intended to inflict bodily harm, a Class 1 felony. Hendricks, who has prior convictions for theft, false representation and distributing marijuana, is free on bail.
In the past, Hendricks has also faced charges for bail jumping and violating unemployment law.
In addition to retaining her job at Applebee’s, Shannon Hendricks has not been charged for her role in the attack. And despite the anti-gay slur shouted prior to the attack, which was heard by both Tim and Krista katherine, the assault is not being prosecuted as a hate crime, Phares said.
The Rice Lake Police Department did not return WiG’s calls, and so far WiG has not been successful in reaching the Barron County district attorney’s office.
Although Phares returned to work at Applebee’s, he doesn’t expect to remain on the job for long. He said he’s disappointed that the restaurant refuses to dismiss Shannon Hendricks, who drove her husband to the crime scene and watched the assault. And he’s angry that the restaurant allowed a post to remain on its Facebook page calling him a “faggot,” despite his complaints, he said.
The anti-gay slur was removed after WiG brought it to the attention of corporate marketing manager Katy Sincko, who at first defended the post, saying, “We aren’t in the practice of hiding things on there (Facebook).” About 20 minutes later, however, she called to thank WiG for bringing the slur to her attention and to say it had been deleted.
Phares said the reason behind the assault is a mystery to him, although a local source familiar with the players in this story contacted WiG to say there’s more to it than Phares is revealing. The source claimed that Phares’ behavior played a role in prompting his problems at Applebee’s as well as the attack.
Phares said he’s aware that he has local detractors and dismissed their take on the situation as “ridiculous.”
The attack appears to be related to an incident that occurred in the restaurant just days prior. After being treated abusively by a diner he was serving, Phares said he asked restaurant manager Tara Steinberg to have someone else take over the table, a party of eight. According to Phares, he was following company policy.
As the diner was leaving the restaurant, other patrons who’d been seated nearby said the diner had made a number of embarrassing anti-gay and homophobic slurs while Phares was serving him, according to Phares.
“The patron called the restaurant the next day and said he would not come back inside the restaurant until I was fired,” Phares said. “(Steinberg) told me they were going to write me up for the situation, and if I got one more write-up I would be fired.”
At that point, Phares said, he put in his two-week notice.
But before the attack, Phares had a change of heart and told Steinberg he wanted to take back his notice. She agreed at the time, he said, but following the attack she told him that his bashing had attracted so much negative publicity that the restaurant didn’t want him back. Steinberg said she could not comment on an employment matter.
It was only after Flynn and Sincko intervened that Phares got his job back, he said. His initial gratitude toward the company over its intervention and concern for his injuries faded when the restaurant refused to delete homophobic remarks posted on its Facebook page.
Phares said he doesn’t feel safe on the job, claiming that the husband of another co-worker threatened to kill him if he returned to Applebee’s.
Sincko told WiG that Applebee’s has a non-discrimination policy that includes sexual orientation and gender identity. She also said the company provided domestic partner benefits to workers in states where same-sex marriage and civil unions are legal, but noted that franchisees might have different policies.
Phares’ case is not the first high-profile embarrassment for Applebee’s. In February, a server at an Applebee’s in St. Louis was fired after posting an image of the receipt left behind by a pastor on the online site Reddit. On the receipt, the pastor wrote a complaint about the automatic 18-percent tip added to the bill (for a party of eight), saying, “I Give God 10 percent Why do you Get 18?”
Applebee’s firing of the waitress who posted the receipt prompted a massive Internet backlash against the company.
Rice Lake also took a negative turn in the headlines last year when GOP state Rep. Roger Rivard, who formerly represented the area in Madison, provoked outrage nationwide after publicly stating that “some girls rape easy.”
Phares said that despite what’s happened to him recently, he’s happy to be back in his hometown after living in Portland, Ore., and Austin, Texas. He said local residents and his family have overwhelmingly supported him throughout his ordeal.
“People have reached out and asked me to come work for them,” he said. “I think the people here have come a long way.”
from The Wisconsin Gazette

Michelle Shocked

It sounds like Michelle Shocked might not intend to let the cancelation of her tour stop her from showing up anyway.
Friday afternoon, the beleaguered singer tweeted that she would be appearing at Saturday night at McCabe’s in Santa Monica for a “speaking engagement” on the subject of “Effects of Gay-Bashing on the L.A. Mayoral Race.”
This came as news to the club — and not good news.
“She is not welcome at McCabe’s,” said the venue’s angry concert director, Lincoln Myerson, who had just learned about Shocked’s vow — or threat — to show up after he got calls regarding the singer’s mysterious tweet. On Monday, the guitar shop and concert venue joined nearly every other club on her itinerary in canceling her planned show after the singer’s alleged anti-gay comments at the opening gig of the tour Sunday night in San Francisco led to mass walkouts and media furor.
Myerson said the club had not heard from Shocked at all during the week, despite repeated attempts to reach her before and since the show cancellation. He added that, as of a couple days ago, none of the other halls or clubs that had canceled her shows had heard a peep out of the mercurial performer, either.
“Had Michelle attempted to talk to me [about taking part in some kind of nonmusical forum], I might have attempted to work something out with her.” Myerson said. “But for her to go rogue on this shows that she’s her own sheriff. If she wants to do it at the park down the street, she can do it there, but she can’t do it at McCabe’s. I’m not intending to clean up this mess for her. I wish I could get on and tweet, ‘Hey, it’s at her house — here’s her address.’”
Asked by The Hollywood Reporter via Twitter if she intended to make her “appearance” some sort of guerrilla action, Shocked, who was arrested two years ago at an Occupy protest, responded: “OK, OCCU-PIE!!” She also retweeted a fan who said: “You mean like on the sidewalk in front of @McCabesGuitar? It doesn’t get much more punk rock than that. I’m there.”
The club had received everything from benign petitions to actual threats from LGBT supporters throughout the week, and now there is concern that activists might believe her supposed appearance is sanctioned. “I don’t want to deal with broken glass and broken guitars,” Myerson said. “And to find out about this from news agencies instead of Michelle herself is irresponsible and offensive.”
Myerson added: “I can’t stop her from having a rally on the sidewalk. But I’ve alerted the police department, saying I think there might be trouble and could they have a couple of extra patrol cars cruise by.” He’s worried because the store planned to be open up until the once-scheduled showtime to process refunds for a few dozen ticketholders who haven’t already gotten their money back.
On Monday, McCabe’s was receiving petitions and threats of protests from LGBT activists if the show went on. But there were other reasons for joining the wave of cancelations, like Shocked refusing to respond to club owners’ inquiries about whether she planned to use her upcoming concerts as a platform for similarly outraging speeches, or even if she did actually still plan to show up.
Now they know: She’s planning on putting in an appearance, all right.
Even now, despite this apparent act of antagonism, Myerson would like to give the veteran performer — who previously had been a McCabe’s favorite — the benefit of the doubt about the intent behind her suggestion to the San Francisco audience that they tweet that she said, “God hates faggots.”
“I think she might have been trying to make a point about ‘I love both bigots and queers,’ but if so, she did a crappy job of it,” he said. “If you want to make a point about the hypocrisy of racism, you don’t go into the First AME Church and lob the N-word and then expect to get a reasonable debate going.”
Shocked is only speaking with the media via Twitter, since her volunteer publicist walked off the job Thursday after less than 48 hours on duty. Shocked is believed to have been acting as her own booker on the scotched tour, despite contact info for a booking agent on her website. Until midweek, that same contact page also listed a publicist who had not worked with her for several years who said he had sent Shocked legal threats to get his name and phone number removed from her site.
Shocked also tweeted Friday that she plans to show up come what may at her May 4 gig in Madison, Wis. That’s the one show on her tour that hasn’t been canceled, apparently due to the club owner being on vacation and unreachable in Mexico. But a contact at the venue told local press, “There’s no doubt in my mind he’ll cancel this.”
As for Shocked’s interest in the subject of  “gay-bashing in the L.A. mayoral race,” further information can be found in the Q&A with her that Spin.com published Thursday. In that conversation, apropos of little, Shocked brought up the election and told her confused interviewer that she supported candidate Wendy Greuel, on the way to mocking gay GOP candidate Kevin James (who did not make the runoff) as being “as affordable as any other politician.” Chances are Greuel will not be showing up outside McCabe’s to accept Shocked’s endorsement.
Despite some baffling attempts to explain herself this week, Shocked continues to be a pariah among some gay former supporters. “What the hell?” comedian Margaret Cho wrote Thursday on Huffington Post. “It’s freaky to me, the whole business of going from a queer icon to someone who would actually say that God hates us. When the shock wore off, I found that people were super angry, but I just got scared.”
from The Hollywood Reporter
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Related Post:

Michelle Shocked Says ‘God Hates Faggots’

VISALIA, CALIFORNIA – A Visalia math and science teacher is under fire after possibly posting what the school district is calling an inappropriate anti-gay comment.
The Visalia Unified School District is beginning the early stages of an investigation into Steven Post, a Redwood High School teacher, district officials said.
Claims were made Friday that Post commented on a USA Today story about athletes, particularly those in the NFL, coming out as gay.
The story dealt with Brendon Ayanbadejo, a Baltimore Ravens player who has adamantly fought for gay rights, including the right for same-sex marriage.
The problem isn’t that Post made a comment, as the school district respects freedom of speech, school officials said. The problem comes with what was posted and what may have been implied, said Cindi Costa, assistant superintendent of human resources.
The comment as stated: “The hom osex uals [sic] will destroy you if you say anthing against them. They have a Facists agenda. They will stomp on you with their jackboots if you say anything against them. Period.”
The comment, which identified Post as the person who wrote it, also identified that he worked for Visalia Unified School District and that he was a math and science teacher. The comment was linked to his Facebook account.
Costa said it’s one thing for someone to post a comment, it’s another to identify the comment with the school district.
“This comment in no way reflects the school district or its views,” she said. “It’s an inappropriate comment, but it’s too early to say if it violates school district policy.”
The school district was made aware of the comment when a concerned citizen emailed all seven board members, several school administrators and reporters from the Visalia Times-Delta.
The email addressed the comment and asked school officials if this was the position of the school district.
“The gay and lesbian students in any school district deserve to be treated with dignity and respect by their teachers. How can a teacher that posts hate speech online be subjective when dealing with gay and lesbian students?” said Greg Murphy in his email. “Would this be tolerated if he were talking about blacks or Mexicans in such a manner?”
Costa said while the district doesn’t have a policy on social media or such posts, they do have an anti-discrimination and hate speech code in which homosexuals would be included.
Calls to Post went unreturned Friday afternoon.
Because it’s a personnel matter, Costa said the district would be limiting the information released throughout the investigation.
from The Visalia Times-Delta

An Oregon man attacked a gay couple with a wrench because they had dyed their pet poodle’s fur bright pink, police said.
George Mason Jr, 22, allegedly screamed homophobic slurs from his SUV at partners David Beltier and Jeremy Mark as they were walking their dog in Hillsboro.
After getting out of his vehicle, Mason is accused of hitting Beltier with his hand – before grabbing a wrench and striking him in the back of the head with the tool.
Beltier told KPTV the couple were just “trying to have a good time” when Mason Jr. pulled his SUV up next to them and started shouting.
“He was saying, “Your poodle is a weird color and that’s just un-American” and “fuck you, you faggots” and shouting,” said Mark.
Mason Jr. then carried out the attack at the busy intersection, the couple claim.
With several witnesses, cops were able to trace the license plate number, track Mason Jr. down and book him into Washington County Jail.
He faces charges including assault, intimidation and unlawful use of a weapon.
Beltier, who suffered a bump on the back of his head, believes he could have died if he’d been hit hard enough.
“It just really hurts to know people are out there still like that. Who cares if my dog is pink. It’s not their dog. So leave me alone,” said Beltier.
from The New York Daily News
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Urena Morel Frankelly

NEW YORK – A 23-year-old gay man was attacked on a Manhattan subway as a crowd of straphangers failed to help.
Urena Morel Frankelly and his partner were on a southbound No. 2 train Monday night when a woman took a picture of them eating and her friend called them names.
“Why you taking a picture?” the victim asked.
“Feed you face, faggot” the suspect shouted back. Another woman with her chimed in, apparently asking the partner: “Why you with that faggot?”
An argument erupted, and the two women, joined by three others plus a man, attacked Frankelly, police said.
His partner tried to intervene, but the victim was repeatedly punched.
The pair managed to get off the train at the next stop, West 96th St., and police were called.
The victim’s left eye was swollen shut, with a cut above the socket. He was treated at St. Luke’s Hospital.
He refused comment.
“Everyone was watching — no one helped us. That was a very scary situation for us,” the partner said.
“Right now we’d just prefer to be alone.”
A short time later, detectives from the Hate Crime Task Force showed up at their Manhattan apartment to interview them.
No arrests have made been made.
from The New York Daily News

Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant admonished one of his Twitter followers for using a homophobic insult toward another fan of the Los Angeles Lakers superstar guard.
Bryant, who has nearly 1.3 million Twitter followers, reprimanded a fan who tweeted “You’re gay” to another fan.
In response to the insult that was posted Sunday on his own Twitter feed, Bryant tweeted: “Just letting you know@PacSmoove @pookeo9 that using “your gay” as a way to put someone down ain’t ok! #notcool delete that out ur vocab.”
Bryant was fined $100,000 in April for using a gay slur in a nationally televised game, an incident that NBA commissioner David Stern called “offensive and inexcusable.”
After receiving a technical foul in a game against the San Antonio Spurs, Bryant yelled at referee Bennie Adams before muttering a gay slur while sitting on the bench. The episode was caught on camera during TNT’s national telecast.
Bryant apologized a day later, saying that he did not mean to offend anyone.
Following his tweet Sunday, one of Bryant’s followers reminded the All-Star about April’s incident.
Bryant tweeted in response: “exactly! That wasn’t cool and was ignorant on my part. I own it and learn from it and expect the same from others.”
from ESPN
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Justin Alesna

A man who admitted to assaulting another man at a Detroit gas station because he believed the victim was gay has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.
The Justice Department says Everett Avery of Detroit was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Detroit. He earlier pleaded guilty to a hate crime.
A message seeking comment was sent today to a lawyer for Avery.
Authorities say Avery punched Justin Alesna in the face in March 2011. Alesna says he was in line to buy cigarettes when a man told him he was standing too close and directed anti-gay slurs toward him.
Alesna says he told the man he was gay and was punched twice. Alesna later posted an Internet video showing his facial injuries from the attack.
from The Detroit Free Press

Rutgers University administrators and student leaders joined with the Clementi family, representatives of the Clementi Foundation and elected officials today to announce creation of the Tyler Clementi Center at Rutgers. The collaboration between Rutgers and the Clementi Foundation will draw from academic disciplines across the university and throughout the nation to create new programs and approaches to address issues that confront young people – specifically vulnerable youth making the transition from home to college.
“This center will embody our shared commitment to breaking new ground to study the rapidly changing world our young adults live in and to lend them support, especially as they transition into adulthood,” the Clementi family said in a statement. “We commend Rutgers for its commitment – unique in higher education – and we are grateful to have the center named in memory of our son.”
“Tyler’s death deeply touched the Rutgers community and brought the issues of cyberbullying and the suicide of gay youth to the attention of the world,” said Richard L. Edwards, Rutgers University executive vice president for academic affairs. “Rutgers has a history of being responsive to the needs of our LGBTQ community, as well as offering forward-thinking scholarly work to impact broader cultural change. It was our sincere wish to work with the Clementi family to turn this tragedy into an effort that would help young people not only at Rutgers but beyond.”
he center will offer lectures, symposia and training on such topics as the use and misuse of new technologies and social media; youth suicide – particularly among LGBTQ youth and other young people – during the transition to adulthood; adjustment and assimilation into college life; bullying and cyberbullying; and understanding and promoting safe and inclusive social environments.
TCFUnder the leadership of Jeff Longhofer, Rutgers associate professor of social work, the goal of the Tyler Clementi Center is to provide scholarly support for the work of policymakers, social activists, community leaders and other advocates for vulnerable youth.
The center also aims to develop new programs and policies to assist first-year students and high school seniors in adjusting to college life that may be used as models for institutions of higher education throughout the country.
from Rutgers Today
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Dharun Ravi: ‘I’m Very Sorry About Tyler’	Dharun Ravi Verdict Won’t End Bullying	Dharun Ravi Found Guilty In Tyler Clementi Trail	Tyler Clementi Suicide Trial Going To The Jury	Tyler Clementi’s Date Testifies
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Richie Covington

IRONDALE, ALALBAMA – It’s about an Irondale man who says he was attacked because he’s gay. And he hopes that by sharing his story it will encourage lawmakers to draft and approve hate crimes legislation when it comes to sexual orientation.
Right now, the hate crimes on the books in Alabama only cover race, religion, and disabilities. Sexual orientation and gender identity aren’t a part of the hate crime laws.
For Richie Covington of Irondale it’s a loop hole he didn’t learn about until it was too late. Covington never thought his sexual orientation would lead to an attack. He’s been open about being gay for over a decade, but since recently moving back to the South he says he’s been ridiculed, harassed, and now attacked.
“If they don’t like gay people, they don’t like transgender people that’s your prerogative to have, but when it gets to the point of hurting another person that’s where I have a problem with it,” said Covington.
On Jan. 5 Covington says he was walking to the store when a man, who mistook Covington for a girl, hollered at him. When the man realized Covington was a man, things got heated.
“He was like, ‘Oh my God, you’re an f-ing faggot,’” said Covington.
Covington says he usually keeps walking but this night he’d had enough.
“I was like yeah and what of it m-f? And just kept going.”
But Covington didn’t get far. He says the man attacked him.
It cases like this that have Representative Patricia Todd fighting year after year to change Alabama’s hate law, but so far it hasn’t happened.
“What I hear from the opposition is they think all victims should be treated equally, but the reality is we already have enhanced penalties for certain victims,” said Representative Todd.
And Todd doesn’t think the law will change anytime soon.
“Too much opposition with people who do not understand being gay is not something you choose,” said Todd.
Covington hopes legislators will hear his story and rethink where they stand.
“If I can bring any good from this awful experience it, I’d go through it all again,” said Covington.
There are federal laws for hate crimes. However in order for it to apply it has to be a federal offense. In Covington’s case, the federal hate crime law does not protect him.
from WBRC 6

Morgen Aubuchon & Seth Hatcher

FORT WORTH, TEXAS – Two of five teens pleaded guilty Friday to painting anti-homosexual and racist slurs as well as hateful and derogatory images on cars and homes in an Arlington neighborhood this summer.
Seth Hatcher, 19, and Morgen Rae Aubuchon, 18, both of Arlington, received three years’ deferred-adjudication probation as part of a plea agreement, attorneys said.
If both defendants have complied with the terms of their probation after three years, they will not have a conviction on their record, state District Judge Mollee Westfall said.
The charge of graffiti causing $1,500 to $20,000 damage is a state jail felony.
Westfall said that if the teens fail to comply, they could face up to two years in a state jail. Neither teen would comment on the incident or the plea arrangement.
Hatcher and Aubuchon each have to pay $300 in fines and more than $6,400 in restitution, perform 120 hours of community service at a minimum of 20 hours a month at Samaritan House, the AIDS Outreach Center or any other organization approved by the court.
The two defendants must also testify truthfully about the actions of their co-defendants in any trial that might arise from the June 10 incident, which angered Arlington residents whose vehicles and homes were defaced.
Aubuchon’s attorney, William Brian Goza, said his client reached a fair settlement and wants to put this episode behind her. “I’ve been around her for a little while now and she’s a good kid,” Goza said. “She has two jobs. She was 17 at the time of the offense, and she just used very poor judgment, as 17-year-olds sometimes do.”
Hatcher’s attorney, Lex Johnston, said his client feels the same way.
“I’ve known his family for a while,” Johnston said. “He feels terrible about what they did, and he’s looking forward to getting on with the rest of his life.”
Authorities arrested the two defendants and three other suspects after surveillance cameras at some of the homes captured clear images of people painting the graffiti, said Betty Arvin, assistant district attorney.
The incidents occurred close together, and when approached by police, some of the suspects admitted their roles, Arvin said. Images and words were repeated at different locations, and the same paint colors were used.
“If there is a silver lining to this, some of the victims said it did help make the neighborhood more cohesive,” Arvin said. “People say neighbors are more supportive of each other now.”
Besides Hatcher and Aubuchon, grand jurors returned indictments of graffiti causing $1,500 to $20,000 against John Austin Cartwright, 17, of Arlington and Daniel Damian Sibley, 18, of Fort Worth. A juvenile who was 16 at the time also faced court action.
from The Star-Telegram
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Rachel Maddow

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) called on a Cincinnati Fox station to apologize after news anchor Tricia Macke called MSNBC host Rachel Maddow an “Angry Young Man” on Facebook last month.
Just before 7 p.m. tonight, the news station posted Macke’s apology to its Facebook page. The apology reads, “I recently posted comments on my personal Facebook page regarding cable news anchor Rachel Maddow which were insensitive and inappropriate. I apologize to Ms. Maddow and any others who may have been offended by my comments, as they do not reflect my firm beliefs in individual and equal rights, and they certainly do not represent the opinions or position of my employer WXIX-TV.”
When some criticized Macke’s social media status, she originally made no apologies for the remark, instead reaffirming it. “I am sorry. I should have said antagonistic,” she responded to one person. “I knew what I was saying Roger,” she said to an apparent friend.
“Tricia Macke undoubtedly tried to insult Maddow because of their political differences, rather than simply because Maddow is gay – but her comments went much further than insulting Maddow’s political leanings,” said a Nov. 9 statement from GLAAD, which revealed “an anti-gay (or at least anti-gender-nonconforming?) bias underlying her political beliefs.”
from The Raw Story

SOUTH AFRICA – At the entrance of a student residence named after one of this country’s most famous freedom fighters, Chris Hani, a crowd gathered to watch the bloody beating of a transgender student.
A security guard working for the University of the Western Cape allegedly stood passively by, seemingly dismissive of the attack, on Sunday morning.
Now Glenton Matthyse, a cross-dresser, law student and gay rights activist, has had enough of homophobic and “transphobic” behaviour on campus.
Matthyse and two other transgender students were injured when they tried to fight off the three attackers.
Matthyse said one of the attackers grabbed one of his friends from behind.
“She fell to the ground and then he dragged her for 2m from the entrance and began a severe physical assault,” said Matthyse.
“His two friends pitched in and assisted in assaulting her. I tried to stop them and so did my friends. My legs were covered in blood after they were done with her. We were no match for them.”
Matthyse claimed security staff allowed the perpetrators into the building to hide.
The drama started on Saturday night at the university’s pub, where Matthyse and his friends – all members of Gayla-UWC – were forced to use the men’s toilet.
While in drag, Matthyse was groped by a man, and patrons hurled insults at them.
“We were being called ‘moffies’, ‘faggots’, and izitabane.”
The insults continued when they returned to the residence where the beating took place.
University spokesman Luthando Tyhalibongo said an investigation was under way.
“[The university] does not condone violence or approve of action that discriminates against any person’s constitutional rights,” said Tyhalibongo.
He said campus security and other staff stopped the fighting and, while some students fled the scene, Gayla members verbally abused the guards.
He accused the Gayla-UWC members of being unruly and in a “drunken state”.
Tyhalibongo said that, because of the Gayla members’ condition, the police could not take statements from them and open a case.
Matthyse denied being unruly.
“A Constable Smith, from Bellville South police station, grinned and chuckled when I tried to explain what had happened.
“When we asked him about this he said it was a form of ‘stress relief’.
“Everyone said we were being hysterical – but rightfully so, considering what had just transpired. We had just been assaulted,” said Matthyse.
Matthyse said he felt that campus security was ignoring his concerns and those of his friends.
The three students are living in fear – not knowing when their attackers will return to finish what they started.
from Times Live

Joshua Esskew

YORK, SOUTH CAROLINA – There was no rally for gay rights, or outrage over a gay man being beaten up in an alleged hate crime.
In a courtroom at the Moss Justice Center Monday, there was just a 21-year-old Rock Hill man who was beaten unconscious in April 2011 outside a Rock Hill convenience store – a beating that was captured on videotape and went viral online.
But Joshua Esskew was not in court as the victim of that horrible crime. On Monday, he was the defendant. Again.
There were no defendants in court Monday who had knocked the stuffing out of Esskew in a thrashing that sparked a national debate about gay-bashing. Those guys, on video hurting someone so badly, had their day in court months ago.
Esskew, in that beating outside the Spot store at Cherry Road and Heckle Boulevard, was kicked and punched by so many hands and feet after first getting smashed over the head with a beer bottle.
By the time he showed up in court Monday, though, he had been in jail for 209 days. He was there to plead guilty to obtaining prescription drugs by fraud.
He said nothing other than, “Yes, sir,” to the judge, several times.
In December 2011, Esskew walked into a CVS pharmacy, just down the street from where he was beaten, and tried to buy hydrocodone, a narcotic painkiller, according to prosecutor Teasa Weaver. A check was declined, and Esskew pocketed the pills and took off.
That came just weeks after Esskew stole a credit card from the purse of a worker in a downtown Rock Hill church, then bought stuff at a store with the card. He pleaded guilty to that charge months ago, was put on probation, which was revoked after he did not report several times.
So for about seven months, Esskew had been in jail.
Assistant York County public defender Ashley Anderson told Circuit Court Judge Michael Nettles that Esskew had “struggled with substance abuse” but “wants to get his life back on track.”
There was no mention in court Monday of Esskew being beaten so badly or the resulting publicity.
So now Joshua Esskew is a twice-convicted felon, but convictions do not change the fact that Esskew took a brutal thrashing that early morning of April 9, 2011. The video was circulated by law enforcement to try to catch the culprits. Police at the time called the beating “vicious.”
It is horrifying and sickening to watch Esskew get hit with a beer bottle that shattered across his skull. Esskew fought back, but others attackers joined in, punching, kicking and leaving him in a heap on the concrete.
Afterward Esskew told The Herald several times that he was attacked because he was gay. He claimed he “walked gay,” so he was targeted and beaten. He had a black eye, scrapes and bruises, bleeding on the brain, a concussion.
Groups that lobby against hate crimes, including many gay rights groups, came to Esskew’s defense. He talked to gay rights groups around the nation.
Angry voices rose from people who either support gay rights or were just upset when this young man was pummeled – regardless of his sexual preferences.
(more…)

Liam Taylor

CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND -  A gay Christchurch man has received a formal apology after a nurse suggested in front of a busy waiting room he could have HIV.
Liam Taylor, 24, had a root canal at Garden City Dental earlier this year. He was on his way back to work when he received a call from the clinic manager telling him a dental assistant had injured herself on a needle used during his procedure.
Taylor was told he needed to have a blood test to ensure he had not caused the nurse any harm.
At the community lab at St George’s Hospital he filled his details out on the incident report.
“I took it back up to the desk and the nurse said I had filled out the wrong section of the form. She said I needed to fill out the ‘source’ section, not the ‘recipient’ section because I was ‘the source of the HIV or Aids’. I was just totally shocked when she said that.”
The nurse retracted the statement after Taylor’s boss, who had accompanied him to the lab, expressed her shock. “The nurse then said, ‘sorry, I mean the potential source of HIV or Aids’. “I was so embarrassed. All these people were in the waiting room and she said it loudly . . . and the first thing that came to my mind was, ‘is she just assuming that I have diseases because I’m gay?’.
“Maybe she did think that, that’s fine, but keep it to yourself and don’t be so unprofessional. I was really mortified and I felt like I was being treated like I was dirty . . . because I’m gay.”
Garden City Dental took $150 off the bill after he told them what had happened. Taylor does not have HIV. He received a phone call from a staff member at the lab apologising for the incident.
The head of department for patient services at Canterbury Southern Community Laboratories, Melanie Petrie, said the situation had “been very badly handled” and apologised for Taylor’s experience.
“In the first instance, all health practices should have the blood-body exposure forms on them . . . and under no circumstance should any patient details be revealed,” she said. Petrie said only a patient’s name should be shared in a waiting room.
298 Youth Health Centre founder Sue Bagshaw said she was “appalled” to hear of Taylor’s case.
“Unfortunately, this is an all-too-frequent occurrence because there is still that underlying homophobia in our society.”
Bagshaw said many of her gay patients had experienced similar incidents.
Shaun Robinson from the New Zealand Aids Foundation said there was still a “huge stigma” attached to HIV and Aids.
“I’m very concerned that the nurse in question has breached client rights.”
from Stuff