World
CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
A bill that would have expanded Montana's hate-crimes law to cover attacks based on sexual orientation, gender, and disability was rejected by the state's house of representatives Monday. The bill had failed in a house committee earlier in the day, but Rep. Brad Newman (D-Butte) moved to have the whole house debate the issue. The motion failed, 47-52. "This bill does not chill...or threaten your First Amendment rights to believe what you want to believe," Newman said. "It simply says you can't take that hate to the street and turn it into violence." Republicans were the major force against the bill's passage. Rep. Cindy Younkin (R-Bozeman) said she would be the first person to call for punishment against a person who commits a violent act. "As a woman, I have been a subject of hate, to my face," Younkin said. "But do I think that a person should be punished more because they said it to me than to a man? No." The debate follows news over the weekend out of Helena, Mont., that an openly gay student at the Roman Catholic school Carroll College had been severely beaten in an apparent gay bashing. Younkin called the beating a "reprehensible act" and took exception to the assumption that Republicans are less empathetic.
Meanwhile, in Billings, Mont., police say that a man attacked outside a gay bar early Saturday is in serious condition in a local hospital. A friend said the unidentified 49-year-old victim was attacked outside the Loft bar by two men yelling, "Fucking faggot! You deserve this!" "We can't for sure know what the motivation was," says Loft owner Bill McCarty. "But I don't know how else you could conclude it. What else could it be?" Two men were arrested 10 minutes after the attack one block from the bar, but police have refused to say if they are suspects in the beating.
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
31 Period Films of Lesbians and Bi Women in Love That Will Take You Back
December 09 2024 1:00 PM
18 of the most batsh*t things N.C. Republican governor candidate Mark Robinson has said
October 30 2024 11:06 AM
True
After 20 years, and after tonight, Obama will no longer be the Democrats' top star
August 20 2024 12:28 PM
Trump ally Laura Loomer goes after Lindsey Graham: ‘We all know you’re gay’
September 13 2024 2:28 PM
60 wild photos from Folsom Street East that prove New York City knows how to play
June 21 2024 12:25 PM
Melania Trump cashed six-figure check to speak to gay Republicans at Mar-a-Lago
August 16 2024 5:57 PM
Latest Stories
Democrats eye Pete Buttigieg for potential run for Michigan governor
December 10 2024 3:20 PM
Musician Christian Chávez on how he learned to own his queerness
December 10 2024 2:41 PM
Dive into the wild analytics of Pornhub's spicy gay stats review
December 10 2024 2:25 PM
An Oregon teacher was chastised for supporting LGBTQ+ students. She sued and won $90,000
December 10 2024 1:50 PM
Can intersectionality survive in the age of Instagram?
December 10 2024 1:00 PM