An intern for the Human Rights Campaign found himself on the wrong side of anti-gay fists Saturday. The unnamed man had been leaving a DC bar when three men reportedly followed him, taunted him with homophobic epithets and hit him.
DC Mayor Adrian Fenty promised a full investigation and lamented the violent, hateful attack:
This has got to be a city where intolerance is not tolerated. You never want to think, especially in the nation’s capital, that somebody could be targeted for a crime based on their sexual preference, their race, their age, anything.
That’s why we’re going to take it extremely seriously, investigate it and prosecute it as soon as we can bring somebody into custody
DC’s seen a number of anti-gay attacks in recent weeks. On September 9th, another man reportedly faced anti-gay attackers. Of the startling trend, police Sgt. Brett Parsons said, “…It’s very disheartening that these types of crimes occur.” Parsons also said he’s not sure the crimes are connected.
AndrewBarnett
SMYAL’s Executive Director Tasha Hill issued a statement today in response to the recent alleged hate crimes committed against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals in Washington, D.C., one of which was an assault on a 16-year-old transgender young woman, who reportedly left the hospital before making a statement to police about the attack.
“On behalf of SMYAL, I would like to extend our deepest condolences to the survivors of these horrific attacks, and offer them our hopes for a speedy recovery. I also would also like to urge the young woman who was attacked on September 14 to come forward to the Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit of the Metropolitan Police Department, or, if she is uncomfortable speaking to the police, for her to contact us here at SMYAL, where we can connect her to any medical attention or support she may need.”
Click here to read the full release.