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February 28, 2008

Yet Another Bias-Motivated Attack in Fort Lauderdale

Yet Another Bias-Motivated Attack in Fort Lauderdale

A gay man was violently bashed in a tourist-heavy area of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., less than 24 hours after Simmie Williams Jr., a gay 17-year-old, was shot and killed in the same city. Melbourne Brunner was beaten outside a diner by a man who yelled antigay slurs at him and his partner, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Brunner and his partner were eating at 3:30 a.m. Saturday morning when a man approached them and began shouting at them, threatening to break their necks. When the couple attempted to leave the diner, the man followed them and blocked them from getting into their car. The assailant punched Brunner in the face and in fleeing the scene removed his shirt and used it to cover the license plate on his vehicle. The assailant has yet to be captured by police.

Brunner was treated for severe bruises and marks around both eyes at a local hospital.

Fight Out Loud, an activist group based in Broward County, blames the barrage of recent attacks on conservative group Florida4Marriage and Fort Lauderdale mayor Jim Naugle, who has waged a relentless citywide campaign against gays.

Waymon Hudson, president of Fight Out Loud, said in a press release Wednesday that he could not help but see the connection between the recent rise in antigay violence and the antigay rhetoric: "The dangerous, hate-filled words of these people have inflamed violence against innocent members of our community and must not go unchallenged."

While activists are calling recent events a trend, Police sergeant Frank Sousa told the Sun-Sentinel that the events are anomalies and not crimes they encounter frequently, though the department is willing to help others who report similar crimes. (The Advocate) 

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