"We're all a little jittery here, says Willis B., a Atlanta resident, " because you never know when this will hit again. We're living in bomb city."

A 25-year resident of this southern cultural capital, Willis' reflections come on February 23, the day following yet another, a third, similar bombing attack executed in a bustling city once advertised as too busy to hate. This time the injured were struck at 9:50 p.m. on Friday (February 21) in the vicinity of a Piedmont Road gay bar, the Otherside Lounge. Five people sustained injuries, one being Marie Wells-Griswell of Snellville, Georgia, who was seriously hurt. Ms. Wells-Griswell, though her life is not presently in danger, has undergone surgery.

The method of operation in each of three recent Atlanta bombings, at (1.) the Centennial Olympic Park, injuring 111 and killing one, (2) outside a north Atlanta Free-Choice clinic where an additional bomb exploded in the parking lot, intending injuries to rescue teams and now, (3.) a gay bar popular among gay men and lesbians. Bombing devices in each of the three attacks were filled with shrapnel. A woman at the gay bar rolled her sleeve back showing how she'd been struck in the arm by a nail. There has also, in a previous bombing, been a back-up bomb involved.

"Atlanta's politicians aren't wishy-washy like they used to be on our gay issues," says Willis. "Our Mayor, Bill Campbell, has come right out and called it a hate crime, because that's what it is." Mayor Campbell, at a news conference, stated that Atlanta authorities believe the killer must certainly be mentally deranged, though "one who is very clever" as well. A special agent of the FBI raised the spectre of a serial bomber on the loose, and police have kept Piedmont Road blocked while they search the gay bar's premises for clues.

A hundred people or more were inside the Otherside Lounge at the time of the blast, and across the street stood a second crowded bar, the Hot Spot. A plethora of witnesses are likely, say police, since, apparently, many have come forward.

Atlanta is a graceful, proud city of parks and tree-lined streets. Though it is now an able host to refugees from every part of America and of the globe, its manner partially retains a somewhat laid-back southern style. Such bombings are totally out of character to the denizens who live in such a style. Gay men and lesbians now unite, with the rest of this legendary city, in opposition to a genuine threat. The city's Lesbian Avengers marched in demonstrations of protective intent.

Each bombed locale chosen by whoever is responsible does, in fact, suggest the bomber's sympathy, at least, for certain religious-fundamentalist causes. Abortion and homosexuality top both the bomber's and the religious right's agendas, while some question whether homophobic fundamentalist TV rantings may become, in fact, inspirational fare for such a bomber.