A Shocking Hate Crime : In Orange County, an incident of gay-bashing at its worst

Substitute any group of people--African-Americans, Latinos, women or, for that matter, blue-eyed white males--in this declaration of violence: “Let’s go down to Mountain Street to get some (fill in the blank).” It’s a chilling exercise that makes clear just how horrible are crimes committed against individuals simply because they are identified as members of any group.

The group explicitly named in that sentence last weekend in Laguna Beach was “fags,” an especially disparaging word for homosexual males. According to a witness, that was the term used by a teen-ager later accused of beating a man senseless.

The beating took place in a largely gay area of town--and despite the vigorous efforts of Laguna Beach police to work with the city’s gay community over the last several years to deter crimes against homosexuals. Police Chief Neil J. Purcell Jr. was right to ask prosecutors to classify the beating as a hate crime, which could add three years to prison terms if there are convictions.

But the climate against gays everywhere needs improving. It certainly didn’t help when Colorado approved an amendment, in a popular vote in November, that bars passage of any law that would provide specific civil rights protections based on sexual orientation. Nor does it help when any of us ignores or condones gay-bashing.

The victim was found unconscious on a rocky ledge not far from three well-known gay bars in Laguna Beach. And police said Loc Minh Truong, 55, of Santa Ana was beaten so badly, it took a while to identify him. The 18-year-old high school student who police say carried out the attack, Jeff Michael Raines of San Juan Capistrano, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. Later, on Monday, there were two new arrests in the case.

Meanwhile, the rest of us are left wondering what more can be done to prevent such inexcusable and senseless incidents, crimes that grow out of hate.