“He’s a faggot. He deserved it,”

“He’s a faggot. He deserved it.”

It happens more often than society admits. A gay man gets bashed by a straight guy because the gay man is at the wrong place at the wrong time. The latest occurring in Vancouver in a popular gay bar.

A gay man was assaulted in the bar by a construction worker who apparently had come into the pub a few times to have a drink and lunch while working on a project near the bar. That gay man is now in hospital, clinging to life and survival likely meaning a severely diminished mental state.

"He’s a faggot. He deserved it," Lindsay Wincherauk alleges the man accused of punching 62-year-old Ritchie Dowrey in the face at The Fountainhead Pub Mar 13 told him after the alleged assault. - Xtra West

The crown still does not take these things seriously. The Attorney General for BC, Libcon Wally Oppal has so far refused to direct the crown to lay hate charges. The end result is the crown has decided to treat this as common assualt. An assualt that likely would not have happened had the victim not been gay.

Its pretty clear to me this event is a bashing motivated by hate. Its time the BC Libcon goverment took a good look at this and did the right thing. Its easy for the BC to pass hate crime laws, for the federal government to pass hate crime laws. Its another matter when we have to hold them accountable for enforcing those laws.

If you are in Vancouver on Synday, tomorrow, whatever your sexual orientation, step out and march in the west end and demand the government enforce the law as they said they would do when they poassed it.

Rally to take back OUR West End
Sunday, April 5
2pm, gather at east end of Nelson Park
March down Davie to Davie and Denman

The violence has to end! Gaybashings need to be treated as hate crimes.

Vancouver courts have heard five gaybashing trials in the last eight years. But the Crown has only sought a hate crime designation in one.

Come out to the rally. Spread the word. Call on the attorney general to seek hate crime designations for gaybashings.

It's time to stop the cycle of anti-gay violence. Enough is enough.