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NGLTF Calls on Sen. Warner to Reconsider Opposition Roanoke Vigil & Medical Expenses Fund Planned |
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Compiled By GayToday
Late last Friday, a suspect identified by police as Ronald Edward Gay, 53, walked into the Backstreet Café in Roanoke, ordered a beer and after a few minutes, pulled a handgun from his coat and opened fire. "He admits to shooting people," said Lt. William L. Althoff, head of the criminal investigations unit of the Roanoke City Police Department. "He said he was shooting people to get rid of, in his term, 'faggots.' He told us people made fun of his name. He told us that he was upset about that."
"Senator Warner, we trust that as a fellow Virginian you are as devastated as we by the senseless brutality of this crime in our home state," the letter stated. "But we also know that sometimes local communities need federal help to deal with hate violence. And we know that if even one senseless act of violence can be prevented by the message that a federal bill can send, the legislation will be well worth it." Meanwhile, activists in Roanoke, Virginia announced that a vigil for the seven victims of last week's shooting in a local bar will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28 at the Elmwood Park Ampitheatre at the corner of Jefferson and Elm in downtown Roanoke. Activists also announced that a fund has been established to help with medical expenses for the six survivors of Friday night's shootings as well as counseling services for bar patrons who witnessed the shootings. Anyone wishing to make a donation to the fund or wishing to express their condolences to the Overstreet family or to any of the shooting victims should write: The Roanoke Seven Fund C/O Christ the Good Shepherd American Catholic Church P.O. Box 3359 Roanoke, VA 24015 NGLTF has dispatched field organizer Dan Hawes to Roanoke to help local activists organize and respond to the shootings. Hate Crimes Have Tripled Since 1991 The FBI's Uniform Crime Reports for 1998, the latest year for which statistics are available shows hate crime based on sexual orientation have continued to rise and increased 14.3 percent from 1997 to 1998 -- even as overall crime decreased. Hate crimes based on sexual orientation have nearly tripled since the FBI began collecting statistics in 1991; comprising 16 percent of all hate crimes for 1998 at 1,260. This is particularly disturbing since the number of reporting agencies in the U.S. for 1998 decreased by 750 from 11,211 in 1997 to 10, 461, with two fewer states reporting, as well. A study released in April, 1999 by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, documented 2,552 anti-gay incidents in 1998. The national survey includes reports from 16 coalition members in locations ranging from San Francisco to Cleveland to El Paso, Texas. The survey showed an alarming increase in the brutality of hate crimes with an unprecedented rise in the use of weapons in the assaults. Congressional negotiators are now in the process off determining whether hate crime legislation will stay in the Department of Defense Authorization Bill. In June, the Senate voted 57 to 42 to pass the language of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act. On Sept. 13, by a vote of 232-192, the House passed a motion to instruct conferees to keep the hate crimes measure in the DoD bill. |
