Newspapers / Q-notes (Charlotte, N.C.) / Aug. 9, 2008, edition 1 / Page 14
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To Polloui our pfogfc// plea/e vf/lb uiuiuj.tt\egaije/bujeb/ibeever.con\. ood /ub/cribe bo our en\ait upclobe/ Por oil b^e juicij debail/! ACTIVISM Robbery sparks action NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS Blowing Rock, Boone & Asheville We also have properties available in d private, gated gay and lesbian community. BLOWING ROCK, 828/295-4272 lnfo4/. MarkLavin.com WWW. Mark La vi n. co m E. Mis' Police contend anti-gay hate was not a factor by Matt Comer . Q-Notes staff ASHEVILLE — A nighttime assault has left community members concerned about the safety of LGBT citizens, even though local police say the crime was a simple robbery. The attack, which occurred on Haywood Street in the early morning of July 6, was detailed in The Asheville Citizen-Times and by online news source EDGE Boston. The gay male victim, who has not been identified, said he was punched, kicked and pursued as he attempted to flee. He said he fended off his attackers with a pocket knife. Although the victim alleges that anti-gay slurs were used during the attack, police said the incident appeared to be a simple robbery and was not motivated by bias. “In this case they were doing a robbery, and they ended up making some anti-gay slurs,” Police Captain Tim Splain said about the assailants. Local LGBT citizens aren’t convinced. On July 9, approximately 80 people showed up at Firestorm Cafe and Books to discuss the attack. And even though Asheville is known for its more liberal outlook and general tolerance toward the LGBT community, the town is not without its challenges, meeting organizers said. “There’s a good cross section of people from all different philosophical backgrounds -..y DaW Night is every Friday at THtf M Pot of Raleigh, The night includes foury courses of fondue and a champagne toast! ■ ■ Rafeigh i 3100 Wake Forest Road 191 a878;0477.: '■ ..'..■S65 couple. Offer al.tlie R^eigli focatiohortly,' . Ra.servatiom ate recommendecL -f' The f * \ i ■ a fondue restaurant fine aged cheeses ■1' assofted:Wfnes':T;ieafaQd-and stbaks/J;^ ',wvv meltirjgpot.com I fondue.coa.St to coast, f locally owned and operated 14 AUGUST 9.2008 • Q-NOTES here,” Louise Newton, co-founder of Tranzmission and one of two members who emailed word of the meeting to the communi ty, observed to Out in Asheville’s Sean David Robinson. “Three days of emailing and 90 people show up? That’s great.” During the meeting, which lasted more than two hours, the group discussed topics ranging from police discrimination and the absence of city ordinances on hate crimes to self-defense classes and setting up a 211 phone bank to support survivors of bias crimes. “We should have any call go directly to the police, have it become a record,” said Michael Harney, prevention educator for the Western North Carolina AIDS Project. “That way, if the Call comes through as an LGBTQ hate crime report, the operator can really ask,‘What do you need?”’ The discussion also led to the creation of a new community action group, tentatively called the Safe Street Asheville Project (SSAP). More than $50 in contributions were collected for the organization. Attendees also formed focus groups to address specific development and action needs of the new group and the local LGBT community. “It’s most important to hit this issue from all angles,” Newton said. “I don’t think one tac tic is more valuable than another.” She added that there is a clear need for SSAP, as she had received at least one email a day since her initial email, with each one describing a sim ilar event to the July 7 attack. She added that many in the community were skeptical of the facts of the case that sparked the meeting. “It’s why they put women on a jury in a rape case,” she said. “No one wants to believe it can happen to you.” Community groups represented at the gathering included Tranzmission, PFLAG, the WNC Leather men, CLOSER, Sean’s Last Wish, WNCAP, the Matthew Shepard Foundation, Our Voice Rape Crisis Center and others. Out in Asheville is donating services as hosts of the new SSAP blog, which will pro vide updates to members of the group and ■ meeting times. The Asheville-based, LGBT monthly publi cation also contacted members of the city coun cil regarding the robbery and LGBT protections. They asked: “What can and will City Council do in terms of adding‘sexual orientation/identity’ and‘gender identity/expression’ to protected sta tuses within the City of Asheville to make these crimes enforceable as hate crimes.” Only one council member responded. Carl Mumpower, who is running as the Republican challenger to incumbent Democratic Rep. Heath Shuler (NC-11), told the newspaper that protections for LGBT citizens are unnecessary. “I do not believe that the LGBTQ deserves protections any different than those avaOable to all other citizens in our communit)^’ Mumpower said. According to Ian Palmquist, executive director of the statewide advocacy group EqualityNC, the only way a local ordinance could affect hate crimes prosecution would be with the extended passage of a local bill by the N.C. Legislature giving the City of Asheville such power. There are no protections in state hate crimes laws or employment non-discrim ination laws for LGBT North Carolinians, i — Out in Asheville 5 Sean David Robinson contributed to this report.
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