Attack in Mass. Gay Bar

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 12:57pm

Frightening.
Hate Crime

[lildogs]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 12:59pm

I've been watching cnn all day and they are all over this. They've had the bartender and pics of the suspect up--the attacker was just an 18 year old kid--he looks like Anthony Jr. It is scary, but I have to say, I'm really surprised it doesn't happen more often. Didn't the club have a big lesbian bouncer? I thought that was de rigeur in small town gay clubs.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 1:00pm

This is awful....why wasn't he carded?

[cheezedoodle]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 1:03pm

Saw this on the news this morning. Very scary.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 1:04pm

Borstal, I know you didn't mean this, but it does concern me that some people might blame the bar for letting under-aged teens in. "Well, if you were doing your job, this wouldn't have happened."

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 1:06pm

Right. Awful any way you slice it. Hope they find the fat bastard.

[cheezedoodle]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 1:06pm

Drinking age is 21 in Mass? Actually - is it 18 anywhere anymore?

[Plum]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 1:07pm

That's awful. And a population of 94,000 isn't exactly a small town. I really hope all the victims come out of this okay.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 1:08pm

and you know, the really disgusting part is there are people reading this, or hearing it on the radio today thinking it's ok, cause alll it was, was "fags".

This really makes me want to vomit......I am so sick of this.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 1:09pm

I don't think the drinking age is 18 anywhere in the US. I may be wrong though.

[staticradar]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 1:09pm

Well in the article on CNN they said that they checked his ID and it had an October 19 1982 birthday saying he was 23...so they DID check the ID, it was just a fake one...

This is tragic and I'm a little unnerved seeing as my cousin is up in the MA area and is herself gay, so this is really scary and I'm hoping she is taking extra care of herself.

[Plum]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 1:09pm

No, I don't think it is, either. Any state that did that would lose highway funding.

[Katt]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 1:10pm

It's 21 everywhere in the US. Louisiana was the last to change from 18 I think. Apparently we didn't want to change but they threatened to cut off our funding. I know that it's 18 in Australia and Mexico though.

[DayDreamer]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 1:11pm

These events are always quite unnerving. We had a gay bashing in Seattle two years ago on Gay Pride Day. Thank goodness the guys were caught and the judge gave them pretty harsh sentences.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 1:13pm

Oh, I was there for that...they got nailed? Good! I remember all the Christians (the freaky wing) showing up at the courthouse to show their "support". Ugh.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 1:15pm

If I wasn't sick before, I certainly would be now.

I cannot access the article, because I am not registered for the Chicago Tribune? What part of Mass?

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 1:19pm

New Bedford.

The shooter looks a lot like a friend of mine, which is freaking me out a little bit.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 1:19pm

New Bedford.
What do you want to bet they find him giving some guy a hummer when they arrest him.

Here is the CNN link. But the Trib is free.
CNN

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 1:25pm

Thanks for the link to CNN, I try to have as few cookies as possible on my computer, so I only link to a few News Sites.


Explain to me this stupid statement:

"The Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus issued a statement in response to the attack. "Unfortunately, the gay community is used to hate crimes," the statement said."


Is it just me, or is this something really really stupid to put in print - no one one "gets used" to hate crimes.

[DG]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 1:31pm

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know of a situation where a gay person went into a straight bar and did this type of thing?

[brdlwyr]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 1:34pm

One significant problem is that too many churches actively promote intolerance.

DG - there are often shootings in bars. There was a horrible shooting in a Chicago suburb a few years ago.

[DG]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 1:38pm

brd - I know of a few that were like this one, but I don't know any where a gay person targeted a straight business. That's what I'm asking about.

[Kitzarina]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 1:41pm

This just adds to my bad mood. The Kansas legislature is trying to pass a bill that will keep protesters at least 300 feet away from funeral processions.

Why? Because of Fred Phelps and his "church" protesting soldier's funerals. Because God had them killed to punish America for supporting homosexuality. This man literally makes me sick to his stomach.

Nice to know Kansas will go down as the state that gave birth to Dorothy, an inept school board, and Westboro Baptist Church. I'm so proud.

[DG]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 1:44pm

Kitz - as has been mentioned in other threads lately, you can't really define an entire group by the actions of some. Some of the best people I've ever known are from Kansas - including my Step-father and my best friend. It is difficult to process some of what goes on there, but it's not the place, it's only some of the people.

[Kitzarina]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 1:45pm

I've lived here almost all my life. It's true that there are some great people in this state. It's also true that some of the most bigoted, hateful people in the entire country live here.

Just read the opinion line in The Wichita Eagle sometime if you want an idea.