Anti-Gay Violence

Edmund Burke is alleged to have said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

Few would disagree that evil triumphed on Oct. 12 when a 105-pound, 21-year-old gay college student, Mathew Shepard, died after being viciously beaten and tortured by two young men in Laramie, Wyo. The life of a young man with a bright future as a diplomat was taken by two high school dropouts whose lives were going nowhere.

The law will see to it that these two killers pay the penalty for their actions, but who is going to punish the fundamentalist Christian right-wing organizations that fostered the climate of hate that led to this heinous crime?

Will good Christians who know a relative, friend, neighbor or co-worker who is homosexual stand by and do nothing or will they go to their church leaders and say, “Stop! I know a gay person and she or he does not threaten my family or my way of life.” Will good Christians stop donating their hard-earned money to Focus on the Family, the Christian Coalition, the Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America and similar organizations or will they do nothing to stop the violence that threatens the gay person they know?

Could a similar incident happen in Ventura County? Yes. There were four gay bashings in and around the city of Ventura this summer, three of which went unreported. Hate crimes against gay and lesbian citizens have risen 260% from 1988 through 1996. Nationwide, at least 21 men and women were murdered last year because their assailants didn’t agree with their sexual orientation.

EDIE BROWN

Residence chair,

Board of Directors

Gay & Lesbian Community Center

Ventura