Gay Conservative

Originally the first post was to have the first twelve anti-gay hate crimes listed, but it was so freakin’ long that even I had a hard time going over it (that after I’ve spent all day working on this thing, it’s waaaaay past my bedtime).  So I revised it and decided to make smaller posts to make it easier to digest.  Here’s the next six claims of Christian-based anti-gay hate crimes and the verdicts–are Christians really responsible?

Les Benscoter–on June 15, 1979, Benscoter was beaten to death in his apartment in Minneapolis by unknown assailants who wrote “fags will die” in toothpaste on his furniture.  Again, little is known about the actual crime; it is believed, however, due to the timing of the crime that it may have been a copycat and that no actual bias was involved.  This is further proved by the fact that the phrase was written in toothpaste on the furniture, and not in the victim’s blood on the walls.  Verdict: HYSTERIA.

Charles Howard–at an unknown date in 1984, three teenagers with prior convictions beat Howard up in Bangor, Maine, supposedly for being “flamboyantly gay.”  He was still alive and conscious when they dumped him from the State Street Bridge into the Kenduskeag River; while in the water he had an asthma attack and drowned.  None of the teens claimed to commit the crime because of any belief in God, much less Christianity.  All were sent to reform school (jail for kids) and released on their 18th birthdays, and have all likely landed right back in prison.  Verdict: both TRUTH and HYSTERIA.

Rebecca Wright–on May 13, 1988, Rebecca Wright and partner Claudia Brenner were camping in Michaux State Forest when, while they had sex in a secluded area, Stephen Roy Carr (whom they’d encountered earlier) began shooting at them from 80 yards away, hitting both.  Brenner hid Wright and wrapped her own neck wound with a bandana and ran for help; the teens who found her took her directly to the nearest police station despite her pleas to be taken back to her partner.  Wright was found dead.  Carr claimed that he’d been raped in a Florida prison and was enraged when he saw the two women kissing, and that they were taunting him by having sex in front of him.  The judge in the case refused to allow the sexual orientation of the victims to be presented in court, thus refusing to allow the trial to become a circus; the defense team was forced to accept a plea agreement.  Carr, who after his stint in prison sometimes lived in a cave, was given life without parole.  Brenner later wrote a book about surviving anti-gay sentiment.  At no time was Christianity mentioned as a motivation by either the perpetrator or the defense lawyers.  While there is little evidence to prove homophobic bias aside from the perp’s own admission, it is still persuasive that he committed the crime while they had sex.  Verdict: both TRUTH and HYSTERIA.

Julio Rivera–on July 2, 1990, 29-year-old gay bartender Rivera was walking home when he was accosted by three members of the DMS or “Drugs, Money, Sex” gang–Daniel Doyle, the wannabe from a nice neighborhood, and members Erik Brown and Esat Bici, who were often mistaken for neo-Nazi skinheads even though there were Asians and blacks in their ranks–and beaten and stabbed to death in a nearby park.  Rivera had an expensive cocaine habit and was described as remarkably unhappy.  The three skinheads decided one night to get as drunk as they could and after doing so “went walking.”  They passed Rivera in a schoolyard and decided to “stretch someone out.”  They beat him with a claw hammer and stabbed him with a kitchen knife.  Doyle later admitted they talked earlier about looking for “a drug dealer, a homo or a homeless man” to beat just to “do something crazy.”  Doyle attempted to claim that they’d killed Rivera for being gay, even though later it was discovered that none of the men had any idea who Rivera was or what his orientation was.  It was deemed a bias crime by a bias crime review board who had a misconception of what the gang was and who their membership comprised.  Also, no mention of Christianity or religious bigotry.  Verdict: HYSTERIA.

Matthew Shepard–shortly after midnight on October 7, 1998, college student Matthew Shepard went to the Fireside Lounge in Laramie, Wyoming and met Russell Henderson and James McKinney.  Whether Shepard came onto them is a matter of some debate; the two offered him a ride, and once they had him in their vehicle they robbed him of his shoes and $20.  They then took him out to the middle of a secluded field outside of town where they savagely beat him, then left him lashed to a split-rail fence to die in the extreme cold.  Henderson and McKinney were quickly found, and while their girlfriends at first offered alibis for both of them, the holes in the stories (and the shoes they’d taken from Shepard found in their truck) gave them away and soon everybody was rolling over on everyone else.  The girls admitted to helping Henderson and McKinney dispose of their bloody clothes and the weapon and the perps started singing the “gay rage” defense tune, claiming that Shepard had made an open pass at both of them and in their disgust, they beat him.  Then, on October 12, Shepard died of his injuries.  The “gay rage” defense went to trial, but the jury was unconvinced.  Both are currently serving multiple life sentences imposed at the behest of Shepard’s parents.  Recently, both have given interviews in which they have claimed that the gay rage argument was a lie, that they only wanted to rob him.  However, I find it disingenuous that two lifetime thugs would claim such a thing and, years after it became a political powderkeg, then claim it was a lie.  Rarely does a robbery begin with a ride home and end with a severe beating in a field, especially when the perps have gotten nothing more than a pair of shoes and a twenty spot.  I do believe that the crime was bias-motivated, at least in part due to the girlfriends’ testimonies that both men had openly planned to rob and beat a gay man to “teach him a lesson” before meeting Shepard.  HOWEVER–we find another crime committed with no mention, at any time, of religious bias.  Verdict: mostly TRUTH, partially HYSTERIA.

Gary Matson and Winfield Mowder–on July 1, 1999, Matson and Mowder were found shot to death in their platform bed at home in Happy Valley, CA.  It was quickly discovered that Matson’s credit card had been used to purchase ammunition and various pieces of weapons and equipment from Scottsdale, AZ, and the address given for delivery was a post office box in Yuba City, CA.  The couple’s Toyota Tercel, stolen from the home, was also found in Yuba City.  Brothers Matthew and Tyler Williams were found nearby leaving a mall, both with handguns in their posession, both wearing bulletproof vests.  Earlier the same year, the brothers had been charged with a string of arsons at three Synagogues and an abortion clinic.  Neighbors of the Williams family said they were well-known for their fundamentalist Christian beliefs, their faith so strong that when they moved out of one house the new tenant received mail from militant groups that touted Christianity.  After their arrest, Tyler gave at least one false account of what had happened before Matthew set the record straight: they’d committed the crime believing it to be judgement, not murder, because the bible called homosexuality a sin.  He said they’d done what other Christians didn’t have the guts to do and that he hoped to be “martyred” for obeying God’s command.  Matthew later strung a blanket between his jail bunk and the toilet and jammed his door so that he could not be seen or reached by corrections officers as he slashed his wrists and his throat with a cutting tool he’d made from a razor and a ballpoint pen.  Before doing so he’d mailed a letter to their attorney claiming sole responsbility in an attempt to exonerate his brother.  Verdict: TRUTH.

Well, there’s one–one lonely little guy on the whole list confirmed as an anti-gay crime committed by people claiming that Christianity told them to do so.  With the entire gay community claiming that Christians are responsible for a majority of the anti-gay sentiment and hate crimes, it’s disconcerting even for me to find more verifiable evidence than I expected that reality is being deliberately distorted.  We’re not doing ourselves any favors with this crap.

It’s beginning to look more and more as though Christians are merely an easy target for scapegoating.  What’s worse is this literally isn’t even half of it–and I’ve already started on the rest.  It ain’t much better.

Of the many comments on the post, Burn Their Churches to the Ground, commenter Tom gave us an interesting post today. He posted a litany of crimes committed against GLBT people and said, quote, “here is a list of murders on gay people by people of the “christian” faith. I challenge anyone to compile a similar list of gay people killing straight people for coming on to them.” His argument is that these “hate” crimes were all committed by people claiming Christian faith as the basis for killing gays and lesbians. Of course, I’ve done some studying. What I’ve found may (or may not) surprise you. I’m going to answer each one in turn, starting with the first six.

The Upstairs Lounge–on June 24, 1973, 29 people were found dead and numerous others were seriously injured by a fire at a gay bar in the French Quarter in New Orleans. The cause of the fire was officially undetermined; it is known that the fire started in the wooden stairwell that led to the bar. The taxi buzzer sounded, and when the inner door was opened the near-dying fire exploded in a backdraft, trapping more than 60 people inside. Three injured victims died in the hospital in the days that followed, leaving a total of 32 fatalities. Even though some gay bloggers–all of them too young to really know what happened and unwilling to do the research–are now claiming that a firebomb was thrown by an anti-gay bigot, more level-headed gay columnists have admitted the truth that a patron of the bar who’d gotten drunk and been thrown out earlier that night had come back to start the fire and later bragged about doing it before committing suicide. The most that can be claimed is that the New Orleans police and fire departments showed a callous lack of concern by leaving the corpse of Rev. Bill Larson half out a window for two days while they investigated the crime. Verdict: HYSTERIA.

Harvey Milk–on November 27, 1978, San Francisco city supervisor Dan White loaded his old police revolver, dumped 10 extra rounds into his jacket pocket, and went to City Hall to confront mayor George Moscone about his pending termination. He had a friend drive him to City Hall, climbed through a window to avoid metal detectors, and confronted Moscone in his office. He demanded to know why Moscone had appointed Don Horanzy to his position, and when Moscone refused to cave in to pleas to allow him to keep his job, White pulled his revolver and shot him twice in the abdomen, then twice more in the head. He re-loaded his weapon and headed for fellow supervisor Harvey Milk’s office. He confronted Milk about the very vocal charge he made to have Horanzy appointed in his place, and when Milk said, “too bad,” White shot him three times in the abdomen, once in the back, and twice in the head. After his parole due to his diminished capacity defense (the legendary “twinkie defense”), White admitted to a police coworker that he’d also marked Carol Ruth Silver and Willie Brown, also supervisors, for death that day. No claims of homophobia were made, and Christianity never came into play. White murdered the mayor and his coworker because he was about to lose his job. Verdict: HYSTERIA.

Terry Knudsen–little is known about this crime.  Many searches turned up only the information that he was beaten to death on June 5, 1979 by three men in the Loring Park area of Minneapolis.  A phone call to the Minneapolis police department didn’t turn up any definitive copy of a report, though if I want to fly out there and look it up myself I’m welcome to.  Verdict: UNDETERMINED, though due to a remarkable lack of evidence at least partially HYSTERIA.

Declan Flynn–this one is an enigma to the gay community at large, because the details are difficult to find.  The most you’ll find on gay hate crimes websites is one simple phrase: “Decan Flynn (they can’t even spell his name right), beaten to death in 1983.”  Actually, it happened on September 10, 1982.  Five teenage thugs in Fairview Park in Dublin, Ireland–two of them members of the Irish Aer Corps–deliberately went to the park to drink cider (yes, it is a beer) and go “queer bashing.”  At the time, this was popular among violent teenage punks in Ireland and Great Britain.  It was part of the culture then; homosexuality has only been officially legal there for around fifteen years.  The teens later told the gardai (Irish police) that they’d done it, and said that it was because Flynn had come onto one of the boys by grabbing his crotch (you also have to remember, this park was and still is a popular place for gay people to find casual sex).  The same group of boys admitted to gardai that they’d beaten at least twenty gay men in the same park.  The teens were given suspended sentences, and while some of their immediate family and neighbors were thrilled, the public outcry was more intense than expected.  Today, nobody knows what’s come of the five teens who committed the crime; they are believed to be living in relative secrecy.  As it was a hate crime, not one of the thugs, who all had previous criminal records for violence and theft, claimed they killed the man because of their faith or because they thought God told them to do so.  Verdict: both TRUTH and HYSTERIA.

James Zappalorti–on January 22, 1990, Vietnam Veteran Zappalorti invited two acquaintances over for dinner at a small house he’d built on the edge of his family’s property on Staten Island.  Once they arrived, 20-year-old Michael Taylor and 26-year-old Philip Sarlo told Zappalorti to hand over his wallet; he was being robbed.  Zappalorti tossed his wallet out into the yard to get the men to leave.  Instead, they beat and stabbed him to death with a large hunting knife.  When cornered by detectives, Taylor attempted to claim animosity towards homosexuals, but Sarlo admitted they’d talked about robbing Zappalorti before going to the house, and his orientation never came up in the conversation.  Again, Christianity nor religious bias were NEVER claimed.  Verdict: HYSTERIA.

Teena Brandon–at a Christmas party in 1993, two ex-cons in Falls City, Nebraska–John Lotter and Tom Nissen–dragged their newest acquaintance into the bathroom of a friend’s home, dropped her pants, and forced a friend to look at the reality: the person they’d been introduced to as Brandon Teena, a man, was actually a woman.  Brandon had been arrested for forging checks and “his” girlfriend, Lana Tisdale, bailed Brandon out of the women’s jail.  When the paper printed the arrest, it listed her actual name as Teena Brandon and the fact that she was female.  Lotter and Nissen forced Tisdale to look at Brandon’s naked body to prove that “he” had been fooling everyone.  They drove Brandon to a factory lot where they raped her and let her go with a warning not to call the authorities.  When Brandon made her way, shoeless, back to Tisdale’s home, Tisdale persuaded her to go to the police and she did so.  Six days later, on December 31, Lotter and Nissen, after an exhaustive search for Brandon, found her hiding under a blanket in a friend’s farmhouse.  They shot and stabbed Brandon and shot the other two occupants of the house–Lisa Lambert, killed with her baby next to her in bed, and Phillip DeVine.  They attempted to toss their gloves, knife and gun into the river, but the items were merely preserved on the frozen surface; the knife was branded with Lotter’s name.  Today, Lotter is on death row while Nissen serves three life sentences.  Both admitted to being there though they argue to this day about who was the shooter and who wielded the knife.  Both admitted they were after Brandon.  However, while the crime was originally motivated by Brandon’s sexual expression, it ended in murder because the perps wanted the witnesses dead.  Sheriff Charles Laux enabled the men to commit the crime with his own bias; the rape kit was conveniently lost, and equally conveniently the end portion of the interview tape of Brandon’s complaint was erased (though Laux’s extreme prejudice is evident throughout what is there).  Laux refused to arrest the perps and let evidence be destroyed, giving them time to commit murder.  Yet again, no mention of religious bias.  Verdict: partial TRUTH, mostly HYSTERIA.  (Sidenote: while I think Hilary Swank was incredible as Brandon in the movie Boys Don’t Cry, I did not necessarily care for the content of the film, nor did I believe the story worthy of being immortalized in such a fashion.)

So far, not a single claim of so-called “Christian bigotry” is standing up to the test.  Though some of these crimes were, indeed, committed out of an anti-gay bias, not one of the crimes listed so far was committed out of some religious motivation.