Attacks on Gays
Recently, two friends of mine were the victims of a hate crime. The perpetrator was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and committing a hate crime. He tried to run over my friends because he suspected them of being gay. The crime occurred at 3 p.m., on a Sunday afternoon, on a crowded street in downtown La Jolla.
Hate crimes in San Diego are not unusual. Most of these crimes go unreported, but this time the victims came forward. One of the victims was John Graham, a San Diego police officer who is actively involved in the prevention of hate crimes. He is also the first San Diego police officer to publicly reveal that he is gay.
Many gays and lesbians in this city have been victims of hate crimes. Often those responsible for these crimes are active-duty military people assigned to San Diego. The person arrested in John’s case is an active-duty Marine who was accompanied by two other Marines.
Our military has a history of harassment and discrimination against gays and lesbians in its ranks. It actively excludes and discharges known homosexuals. It shouldn’t surprise us that some young, impressionable military men take the message they learn from their leaders about gay people one step further. They hit the streets of our city and think it’s all right to attack any San Diegans they suspect of being gay.
Think about it . . . if a police officer in this city can be a victim of a hate crime because he is suspected of being gay, what about your chances of being a hate crime victim? And what about your children? It happened four months ago to 17-year-old high school student John Robert Wear, who was killed in Hillcrest because he was suspected of being gay. It will continue to happen until the leadership of the military stops its disgraceful anti-gay policies which encourage the commission of crimes of hatred in our city.
As long as the freedom of any of us is denied, the freedom for all of us is in jeopardy. As long as any citizen of this city can be victimized by hate, then none of us is safe.
FRANK BUTTINO
San Diego
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