For every unreported gay bashing there are countless others that don't get this kind of attention. As the readers are probably aware, I live in Oklahoma and, besides my family's ranch in northeastern Oklahoma, I spend a lot of time living in Tulsa, Oklahoma at my late grandmother's house. I wrote a post on October 14th about "Republicans and Hate Crimes". In today's Tulsa World, an article appeared about another attack. Its time to pass Federal Hate Crimes protections for the LGBT community.
What should have been a 10-minute walk to a friend's house ended with a trip to the hospital for Brandon Patrick, a Tulsan who said he was severely beaten Sunday night because of his sexual orientation.Yes, its time to send a message this kind of thing won't be tolerated anymore.
Three people followed Patrick down the 1300 block of South Rockford Avenue about 11:45 p.m., yelling homophobic slurs and threats, he said.
Patrick, who is gay, said he ignored the group until they closed in and then asked why they were accosting him without provocation.
The assailants then started beating, biting and slashing at Patrick with a blade, he said, leaving him with several cuts on his head and body.
