The beleaguered
gay community of greater Fort Lauderdale has been put
through another homophobic incident.
After numerous
physical attacks against LGBT people -- including the
murder of teenager Simmie Williams Jr. in February
-- and verbal attacks from Fort Lauderdale's
antigay mayor Jim Naugle, three south Florida homes
were vandalized by homophobes early Friday, the Miami
Herald reports. The attack occurred in Wilton
Manors, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale with a large gay
population.
Graffiti was
scrawled on cars and homes, though one of the homes hit was
not owned by anyone gay.
Victim Ron
Helfrich seemed to take the attack in stride, telling the
Herald, "Maybe I'll just write an 'I love' on
top of the word gay and add an 's' to the end."
(The Advocate)