Tag: violence

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US Senate: Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act passes 78-22

The original 1994 act expired in 2011 and failed to be reauthorized last year.

The vote today in the Senate was 78-22; all of the “no” votes came from Republican men.

The bill is expected to face tough opposition in the House.

From the AP:

By a robust bipartisan majority, the Senate voted Tuesday to renew the Violence Against Women Act with new assurances that gays and lesbians, immigrants and Native American women will have equal access to the act’s anti-domestic violence programs.

Last year both the Republican-led House and the Democratic-controlled Senate passed renewal bills, but they were unable to reach a compromise.

This year House Republicans, sensitive to their lackluster showing among women voters in the November election, have vowed to move expeditiously on the issue.

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Dallas men beaten with bats after being perceived to be gay

Two Dallas men became the victims of an apparent anti-gay hate crime for their perceived sexual orientation when five men yelled homophobic slurs and attacked them with baseball bats, the Dallas Voice reported.

The police report says that while the victims were walking near an intersection around 2 a.m. a group of men called them “fags and sissy” from their car. After they verbally assaulted them, the five men got out of the car and attacked the two men with bats.

One of the victims was hit at least four times in the head and was knocked unconscious for a short time. The other man tried to defend himself but the suspects dragged him on the ground before he escaped.

Read more here.

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5 year sentence given for beating of trans woman in Baltimore

Teonna Monae Brown, 19, was charged with the April 18 Baltimore McDonald’s beating of transgender woman Chrissy Lee Polis, 22, and will now serve the sentence of five years in prison for the crime.

The incident attracted national attention after the video was posted on YouTube by a McDonald’s employee who recorded the incident but did nothing to stop the crime.

You can see the very disturbing video of the attack here. Be warned though – it’s very disturbing.

In the recorded video, the teen, along with another 14-year-old female, is seen beating the transgender woman in the body and head, dragging her across the restaurant after she used the women’s restroom.

“I continue to suffer seizures, bouts of crying, mental anguish and anxiety,” Polis said in a statement. “I fear being alone. I have flashbacks about the attacks. I have twice now been admitted to a crisis center, and I am having extreme mental difficulty.”

Brown’s sentence produced 10 years for each of the charges standing against her, but Baltimore County Circuit Court Judge John Turnbull III suspended five years on both counts, allowing Brown to serve the remaining 5 year sentence concurrently. Brown will also stand on a three-year probation after her release from prison.

The 14-year-old, whose name has not been released, has admitted responsibility to the same charge of hate crime and first degree assault. Her sentence was undisclosed, but she was sent to a juvenile facility for an unknown period of time.
(from LGBTweekly.com)

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Man viciously attacked outside gay club in Salt Lake City

A 20-year-old Salt Lake City resident was attacked and hospitalized last Friday night as he left a downtown club. Dane Hall, an openly gay man, was in the hospital for four days, lost 6 teeth and his jawbone was broken in three places as a result of the attack.

Hall said he left Club Sound, which is gay-themed on Friday nights, and crossed the street to the corner of 600 W. and 200 S. in Salt Lake City, when four men approached him and began yelling gay slurs. He was then punched in the back of the head and knocked to the ground. One of the assailants grabbed his shirt and began punching him in the face, he said.

After Hall fell to the ground again, the attacker grabbed him, placed his open mouth over the street curb and stomped on the back of head, knocking out six teeth in a move commonly referred to as ‘curb checking,’ which can result in death in many cases. Two other assailants kicked him repeatedly in the stomach, Hall said. The attackers called him a ‘fag’ and took his identification and $40, he said.

“I could have died. And a piece of bone from my jaw was jammed in my brain, to make things worse,” Hall said in email correspondence because his jaw is still wired shut after the attack. “If anyone has any information leading to the arrest I am offering a $10,000 reward.”

The hospital bills will total more than $30,000 and unless the assailants are found, Hall could be stuck with the bill, he said. Although he filed a police report, there have been no leads on the case and no suspects have been named, he said.

More at Q Salt Lake

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Transgender woman attacked at McDonalds in Maryland

After an unidentified transgendered woman tried to use the bathroom at a Baltimore McDonalds, two patrons started attacking her in full view of other customers and employees. Instead of trying to intervene, the employees filmed it on their phones to post online.

You can see the very disturbing video of the attack here. Be warned though – it’s very disturbing.

While you can see the manager yelling stop at the two women attacking the customer, none of the other employees even try to intervene or keep the women from dragging the victim across the restaurant floor.

The male employee who shot the video appeared to have done nothing to help. On the video, he’s heard telling the attackers that the victim is seizing and that police are on the way.

A brave elderly female customer steps in to help. The manager and employees simply watch as the victim starts to have a seizure and offer no help whatsoever.

Details on the arrest of two suspects from the Baltimore Sun:

The attack occurred April 18 in the 6300 block of Kenwood Ave., in Rosedale, county police said. Police said a 14-year-old girl had been charged as a juvenile, while charges were pending against an 18-year-old woman. Police said the incident “remains under investigation and the state’s attorney’s office is reviewing the case.”

Police said the victim was a 22-year-old woman and said an update on her condition was not immediately available.

Equality Maryland identified the victim as a transgendered woman. The group has urged officials to investigate the attack as a hate crime.

As the video spread, McDonald’s issued a statement about the attack:

“We are shocked by the video from a Baltimore franchised restaurant showing an assault. This incident is unacceptable, disturbing and troubling,” the company said in a statement posted on its website. “Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and employees in our restaurants. We are working with the franchisee and the local authorities to investigate this matter.”
(via Bilerico.com)

Disgusting.