OK, kiddo! Here are all the fantastically amazing posts tagged with Hate crimes

Judge Throws Out Gay-Basher’s “Gay Panic” Defense

August 13th, 2010

The old gay panic is put through the rounds by swapping the scenario. A gay guy punches a girl who was hitting on him.

Shawn Woodward, a 37 year old man from Vancouver, was found guilty of aggravated assault this week after sucker-punching a 62-year-old gay man. Richard Dowrey, the victim, was left with permanent brain damage and will now require assistance for the rest of his life.

Woodward, who is straight, claimed that the punch was made in self-defense because Dowrey had made “unwanted sexual advances.” Now, that’s a pretty crazy argument on its own, but it’s extra absurd in this case. The assault happened inside the Fountainhead Pub, a gay bar in the middle of Vancouver’s gay district.

After examining witness testimony, the judge found that Woodward’s evidence was not credible, that no sexual assault took place, and that Woodward merely became offended and violent after being hit on by a gay guy.

Sentencing happens in September, where it will be decided if the assault was also a hate crime.

Gay Bashers Skip Out On Court Date

July 12th, 2010

Man runs off in the distance

Parminder Singh Peter Bassi and Ravinder Robbie Bassi, two gay bashers facing charges for a vicious assault on a Vancouver gay couple after urinating on their house, have skipped out on their first scheduled court appearance.

Their lawyer, in the meantime, has asked for an extension until August 9 because he said he hasn’t received the files for the case. Now, I’m not a lawyer, but I’ve prepared a short file containing everything Mr. Baker needs to know about his clients:

File no. 28-3765-67

They were urinating on someone’s house and, when asked to stop, beat the living crap out of the owners while shouting anti-gay slurs. Then they didn’t show up for court.

Enjoy the extra month of preparation for that one.

Four arrests made in Vancouver gay bashings

July 5th, 2010

Policeman identifies assailant because he physically looks like a monster

Somewhat good news today, as four men have been arrested in Vancouver for two separate gay bashings in the past month.

Parminder Singh Peer Bassi and Ravinder Robbie Bassi, now arrested, were urinating on the home of a gay couple on June 12; when the couple asked them to stop, there were assaulted amidst a number of homophobic slurs.

Alexandre Tchernychev and Aaron Alexander Hahn, also now arrested, assaulted a man in Vancouver’s gay village on the morning of Canada Day, again while shouting homophobic slurs.

While I’m happy these attacks are being reported more frequently and arrests are being made, this is still happening far too often. It’s easy to condemn violence, but condemnation needs to start earlier, challenging the casual homophobia that leads to it. Condemnation from the gay community isn’t enough. Politicians, churches, ethnic communities, and everyone in between needs to help put a stop to this.

Gay Men Make Up Most Victims of Hate-Motivated Violence

June 18th, 2010

Man is crushed by rising column in hate crimes statistic bar chart.

There has been a noticeable jump in the number of reported hate crimes in Canada in 2008, and gay men top the charts as victims of hate-motivated violence, according to a police services report.

The rise in hate crimes is most likely due to better reporting of hate-motivated incidents, which is a very good thing, but these numbers are still way too high. The number of hate crimes logged by police, for example, has risen 35 percent since the year before to a grand total of 1,036. That’s over a thousand victims selected simply because of their race, religion, or sexual orientation with no other motivating factors.

Most disturbingly, 75 percent of all hate crimes involving physical violence (as opposed to vandalism and other non-violent incidents) were motivated solely by the sexual orientation of the victim. Of these, 85 percent of the victims were gay men. This means the gay community, and particularly gay men, are at a hugely disproportionate risk of violence.

This has got to change, and it starts by challenging all casual homophobia before it has a chance to escalate to this level of hate.

Hate Crime Gets Tough Sentence

May 3rd, 2010

Two-headed alien commits an anti-human hate crime.

A Vancouver man has been given a harsh, year-long prison sentence for assaulting a gay man back in September, 2008.

Jordan Smith was holding hands with his boyfriend as they walked along the street in Vancouver’s gay district when he was attacked by Michael Kandola. The attack knocked Smith out cold and broke his jaw, requiring surgery to have it wired shut.

Smith had never held hands with his boyfriend in public before and hasn’t done so since.

Kandola’s lawyers argued that the assault, caught on film by a security camera, should not be considered a hate crime—a notion that the judge rightfully dismissed. The attacker shouted anti-gay slurs before and after the assault, even as the victim was laying unconscious on the ground.

This is one of the first gay bashings to be ultimately ruled a hate crime under sections 318 and 319 of Canada’s criminal code—a very welcome change from the norm.

You see, occasionally, I hear some nonsense about how “all crimes are hate crimes,” and that tougher sentences shouldn’t be given in instances like Smith’s attack. I could not disagree as completely as I do with this sentiment. Hate crimes are different from regular crimes in that they target an entire community, not just a single victim. They send the message that all gay people had better watch their backs. This ruling sends the message that anyone who would terrorize the gay community with violence should watch theirs.

Oklahoma Passes Bill Discriminating Against Wrong Group

March 31st, 2010

Too many prejudices to track.

The U.S. State of Oklahoma has accidentally passed a bill that eliminates all hate crime protections from people based on their race or religion instead of their sexual orientation, the bill’s original intent.

Bill 1965 (named, most likely, for the attitudes of that era) was supposed to essentially reverse the Matthew Sheppard and James Byrd Act, a federal law that added sexual orientation to the list of minorities protected from violent hate crimes. While states are not allowed to override federal law, Oklahoma found a strange workaround, mandating that local law officials simply not enforce a specific section of the U.S. Code under Title 18. Due to a clerical error or typo, however, the bill identified that section as 245 (which deals with race and religion) instead of 249 (which deals with sexual orientation).

Now, it’s actually a worthwhile exercise to substitute religion or race for sexual orientation to see how crazy anti-gay arguments sound, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen lawmakers do it themselves… to their own legislation… and actually pass it.

Or who knows, maybe they just wanted to exercise the golden rule and seek to be treated the way they treat others?

Either way, the intent of Bill 1965 is exactly the same, no matter which group of people it applies to. With that in mind, I’m sure the legislators who supported the bill in the first place will see no problem keeping it on the books as it stands, right?

Gays Now Protected From Hate Crimes in U.S.

October 30th, 2009

Yeah, I couldn't think of anything to draw...

The United States has passed and signed into law The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The new law carries stiffer penalties for anyone who intends to terrorize the entire gay community by selecting and violently assaulting gay people at random.

Canada added sexual orientation to the list of minority groups protected from hate crimes in 2004—just five years ago.

Hear that, all my stateside friends? You’re not far behind! In fact, at this rate, you’ll have equal marriage rights nationally by 2011. Go, push for it!

Update: Slap reader David writes in with a correction. It turns out that Canada’s 2004 amendment dealt with protection from hate propaganda, and not violent crimes. The equivalent of the Matthew Shepard Act was actually added to Canada’s criminal code in 1995. So, it turns out that my stateside friends are pretty darn far behind after all. Keep pushing, though; you’re on your way!

Community Rallies For Gay Bashing Victim

September 14th, 2009

I think a "shindig" is a type of injury, too.

The Thunder Bay community gathered to take a stand against homophobic violence on Friday after a gay man endured a vicious attack just one week before. Jake Raynard says he and some friends were assaulted outside a local bar because they were gay, with Jake bearing the brunt of the attack—ultimately requiring reconstruction surgery to repair multiple fractures to his head and face.

These attacks are unacceptably frequent, and the victims often don’t come forward. I believe that hiding from homophobia solves absolutely nothing, so I applaud Jake’s brave stance in making himself visible after such an attack. Homophobia affects everyone, even straight people, so it’s important to take a stand, be visible, and vocal.

Walk The Bridge In My Shoes: How Homophobia Affects Everyone

August 21st, 2009

Alexandra Bridge

Twenty years ago today, Alain Brosseau was walking home from his job waiting tables at the Chateau Laurier Hotel in Ottawa when he was attacked and killed by a group of men because they thought he was gay. He wasn’t.

To mark the tragic event, the Ottawa community is organising a show of solidarity called Walk The Bridge In My Shoes. It begins tonight at 7pm, starting with the viewing of a 1996 documentary at the National Art Gallery and concluding with a walk down the Alexandra Bridge, where Brosseau was dropped head-first onto a pile of rocks. Organisers encourage all participants to bring cell phones or flashlights to light up the bridge, while the Ottawa and Gatineau Chiefs of Police meet mid-way for a symbolic exchange.

Twenty years ago may seem like a while, but gay bashings are still a reality and you don’t need to be gay to become a victim. These incidents will not go unnoticed; homophobia needs to be nipped in the bud.

Anti-Gay Fringe Candidate Found Guilty

August 10th, 2009

That especially goes for his followers.

David Popescu, the fringe candidate from Sudbury who declared that all gay people should be killed while speaking in front of high school students at a candidate’s debate, has been found guilty of inciting hatred under Canada’s criminal code.

Good.

Popescu, already a sentenced criminal for striking his elderly mother in 2003, tried to shield his immoral actions behind a cowardly veil of religious beliefs, saying that he’s just acting the way the bible wants him to. Thankfully, the courts do not accept that uttering death threats and inciting hatred toward an entire population is OK because one interprets their religious texts as such.

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