
Far Right organizations in Colorado and Oregon placed anti-gay initiatives on
the statewide ballots in 1992. Both initiatives sought to repeal existing
civil rights protections against anti-gay discrimination and to ban such
legislation from ever being enacted. The backers of the initiatives blanketed
their state with distortions' and lies charging gay people with molesting
children, spreading disease, demanding "special rights" and falsely claiming
"minority" status in order to further "homosexual hedonism" and undermine
traditional family values.

Anti-gay violence exploded in the wake of these campaigns. In 1992, the
Portland, Oregon victim assistance agency documented 968 bias incidents, more
than any other lesbian. gay and bisexual agency in the U.S. Denver victim
advocates reported 204 homophobic incidents, with 40% recorded in November and
December, after Amendment 2 passed. Eighty-nine reports were received in
Denver in 1991.

NGLTF continues to receive anecdotal reports of violence by military
servicemembers against gay civilians and military personnel. The murder of gay
Navy servicenember Allen Schindler, beaten to death in Sasebo, Japan, on
October 27, 1992, has drawn wide press attention and angry protests from gay
activists.

Bias against gays is institutionalized in the U.S. military. Department of
Defense Directive 1332.14 directs military officials to discharge gay service
members. "This bias creates an environment that fosters contempt for both
civilian and military gays and lesbians," said Hiraga. "Military leadership
intent on keeping the ban has used tactics of distortion and mistruths similar
to those used by the far right."

                    Examples of Incidents

> On September 25, Hattie Mae Cohen, an African-Anrerican lesbian, and Brian
Mock, a white gay man with a disability, were firebombed to death when
skinheads tossed a Molotov cocktail into their house after earlier beating
Mock while shouting anti-gay epithets. The skinheads called cohen a "nigger
dyke" when she came to Mock's defense during a previous attack.

> On May 5, a suburban Detroit lesbian couple was shot and killfront yard by a
neighbor upset at their displays of affection.

> In July, two men leaving a popular Washington, DC, gay club were shot by two
teenagers and left on the street to nearly bled to death.

> A 14-year-old boy was beaten by family members and thrown out of his house
in April after talking to gay activists outside of his family's church in
Sacramento, Calif.

> On June 6, the offices of the Portland, Oregon, campaign fighanti-gay
referendum were ransacked. Organizational donor and member lists were
stolen, and individuals whose names appeared on the lists later received death
threats.

> On June 28, 25 members of The Ku Klux Klan demonstrated at the gay pride
picnic in Gainsville, Fla. The Klan members harassed participants and called
for the execution of gays.

> A retired California Highway Patrol officer repeatedly threatened a ladera
County, Calif. woman and her son during the summer because her brother-in-law
had AIDS. After firing his gun at the house of the family, the officer killed
the family's animals, beat a family friend and held a gun to the son's head.

           Government and Community action in 1992

Last year marked continued progress toward countering bate violence at the
Federal, state and local levels. Congress authorized research on hate crime
prevention among juveniles. Congress also instructed the Department of Justice
to expand the mandate of the Community Relations Service to address bias
crimes based on sexual orientation. The Utah legislature approved a hate
crimes documentation and penalty enhancement law including crimes motivated by
sexual orientation bias.

In 1992, there was an unprecedented level of organizing to stem the rising
tide of anti-gay violence. Lesbians and gays in communities across the U.S.
launched safety patrols, public awareness campaigns, violence surveys and
protests.

               Recommendations

The NGLTF Policy Institute recommendations for action against anti-gay
violence include:

> Increased funding for implementation of the Hate Crime Statistics Act and
other measures to counter bias crimes;

> Immediate passage of state and local laws to curb anti-gay violence and
other bias crimes;

> Immediate development and implementation of military codes and directives to
curb bias violence by Military personnel;

> Repeal of the ban on gays in the military;

> Immediate passage of local, state and federal laws prohibiting
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and prompt repeal of laws
that seek to regulate private, consenting sexual behavior between adults;

> Repeal of state and local laws in Colorado, Oregon and elsewhere that ban
protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation;

> Mandatory training programs for law enforcement personnel to ensure
competent and sensitive handling of bias crimes; and Required educational
programs in the schools, churches and wider community to counter anti-gay
prejudice;

> Vigorous condemnation of anti-gay prejudice and violence by leaders in
government, education, business and the media.

For more information contact:  Martin Kazu Hiraga; The National Gay & Lesbian
Task Force; 1734 Fourteenth Street NW; Washington, DC  20009; Voice
202-332-6483-3307; Fax 202-332-0207.  Be sure to mention in your
correspondence that you heard of this through The Electronic Gay Community
Magazine.

The entire contents of The Electronic Gay Community Magazine are Copyright 1993
by The Land of Awes Computer Information System (telephone 316-269-0913 Voice,
316-269-4208 FAX/BBS) but may be reproduced by any means without permission
from the publishers provided that this copyright notice remains with each
article.

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