Long Beach : Volunteers Begin Patrols to Prevent Gay-Bashing

Armed with walkie-talkies, teams of trained volunteers set out Saturday night on foot and by car to patrol the predominantly gay Broadway strip in Long Beach.

It was the first of what gay activists say will become weekly patrols aimed at preventing hate crimes against gays and lesbians and improving safety for everyone in the area. Trained by the Long Beach Police Department, the volunteers will serve as “the eyes and ears of the community,” according to a police press release.

Rick Rosen, a gay activist who spearheaded the project, said: “We’re not like the Guardian Angels. We’re not there to intervene. We’re more like an enhanced Neighborhood Watch (group).” Their first night was quiet, he said, “but we got a lot of feedback from people saying they felt safer.”

Long Beach Teams Project Inc., an informal coalition of gays and lesbians, began working on the idea of safety patrols after a gay man was slain on Broadway during a robbery in 1990, Rosen said. The 14 volunteers now concentrate on Broadway between Alamitos Avenue and Kennebec Avenue from 10 p.m. each Saturday to 2:45 a.m. But they hope to expand the locations and times in the future, Rosen said.