August, 1990 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

Page 7

Bashings at 117th and Detroit continue: One man's story

by Bob Boone

Ed, a gay man from Lakewood, was walking to his car after leaving Legends in the early hours of June 25. As he approached his car on West 117th Street, he was asked what time it was by a Hispanic man walking down the sidewalk. Ed pulled back his jacket sleeve to check his watch and suddenly there was another person behind him. It was a young black man swinging a hammer that struck Ed on the back of the head. With the blow, Ed's glasses flew of onto the pavement.

Trying to escape the man with the hammer, Ed ran to the other side of his car. Then both men were there hitting and shouting at him. In the confusion and

of the hammer, he had never gotten a clear look at the two men. The police took what descriptions Ed could offer, but at this point, no suspects have been found.

The back of Ed's scalp has healed and swelling and discoloration in his face have dissappeared. Physically, Ed feels well again. still there are moments, especially in the evening, when he feels frightened. Some nights it is difficult to sleep and he will leave on the lights.

Following the attack, Ed talked to Aubrey Wertheim, director of services of the Lesbian Gay Community Service Center. Aubrey reported the incident with the Mary Ann Finnegan Project, the Center's victim assistance program.

Through the Center Ed received a great deal of emotional support and a reaffirmation of his self-respect and gay pride. Ed recognizes that this was not as much a personal attack as a senseless crime based in broad hatred. He feels that while the perpetrators should feel the consequences of their actions, everyone should also "be aware that their crime comes from ignorance and intolerance" and not just focus on the individuals.

Since the attack, Ed has heard of other possible gay-bashings in the area. One person even told him that their had been at least nine in the same area over the past few months. Regardless of the specific numbers of bashings, Ed said, "We should not tolerate this. These are

stories reminiscent of the pre-civil rights South or Nazi Germany, not the 1990's."

Ed does not consider himself a victim, but a survivor of a trauma. He feels that he has grown stronger since the attack. He learned "that there is support in the community and that people do care and they do get outraged." It was the spirit that Ed says helped him to survive the attack. "I knew that everything they were saying wasn't true. I knew that I do have a dignity and self respect."

Anyone with information on this attack or any other gay bashing or anyone in need of assistance following a gaybashing can contact the Mary Ann Finegan Project through the Center at 522-1999.▼

the emotion of the scene Ed could not Two gay men denied entry into United States

distinguish all that was said, but he remembers phrases like, "Take this one, you faggot!" They continued beating him for some time. Their fists and hammer struck again and again at his face chest and legs.

Finally, one of them demanded, "Give me that watch, you fucking faggot!" Ed surrendered his watch and the two men also took the twelve dollars or so he had in his pockets. One of the men got into a nearby van and Ed seized the opportunity to get into his own car. He locked the door and the two men at last drove away.

After a few moments Ed ventured from his car to retrieve his glasses. Then he drove to the home of a friend and said that he had just been gay-bashed. After washing some of the blood from his face, Ed and his friend went to the hospital. There, Ed's scalp was stitched back together and his other wounds were treated. His face was swollen and his one eye was black-and-blue. There was a knot in his cheek and a severe bruise on one knee where the hammer had struck at one point. Amazingly, Ed suffered no broken bones. Under observation for a concussion, though, he remained at the hospital until 7:00 A.M.

After a few hours of sleep, Ed went to the police to make a report of the attack. The police responded attentively, according to Ed, and made sure that he had indeed received proper medical attention. As Ed shared the details of the incident, the officers changed the charge from assault to aggravated robbery which carries a heavier penalty. Because Ed had lost his glasses with the first blow

The exclusion of two Canadian men from entering the United States has some people asking whether immigration officials are considering more serious bans on gays traveling across U.S. borders.

According to the April 13 issue of Canadian gay and lesbian newspaper, Xtra, James Saccary was denied entrance into the United States by a rarely-enforced provision of U.S. immigration law which bars gay and lesbian foreigners from entering the country on grounds that gays are "sexual deviants."

Saccary, whose destination was Provincetown, Mass., told X-tra it was his sense of ease with his own sexuality that makes him unsuspecting and vulnerable to U.S. immigration officials' questioning.

Saccary was asked by two separate immigration officials who his friends were in Provincetown and about the nature of his acquaintance with them. The second official asked whether he had AIDS, to which Saccary replied, "No."

According to Saccary, the second official also examined his wallet and luggage, questioned him on why he had a doctor's business card with him and commented on the abundance of men's names in his address book. When she discovered some safer sex literature in his bag, she asked why he had the material if he didn't have AIDS. To this Saccary replied, “As a gay man, I think I should be informed about AIDS, like everybody else."

Because of a Jesse Helms amendment to the appropriations bill two years ago,

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"V infection was added to the INS list of excludable diseases and INS officials can therefore ask foreigners applying for a visa to enter the U.S. whether they are HIV infected and deny them entry on the basis of this information.

A similar policy excludes gay and lesbian foreigners from entering the states. Although INS officials are directed not to ask applicants if they are gay, Saccary's unsolicited statement, “as a gay man,” allowed these particular offi-

counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union subsequently told Waddell that this requirement was bogus.)

X-tra concludes that similarities in the Saccary and Waddell cases may suggest immigration officials are taking the ban on gays more seriously and that the search for HIV carriers is becoming so intense that any involvement in gayor AIDS-related causes is likely to result in exclusion.

cials to take action which resulted in Thompson

Saccary's exclusion from the U.S.

"[After the interview] I was sweating and shaking," he told X-tra. "I felt dirty, that everyone was staring at me. Nothing like that had ever happened to me before."

Less than a month after Saccary's incident, another man, Ross Waddell, was en route to Washington, D.C., to participate in the Names Project. At the Buffalo border-crossing point an immigration official questioned him about his reasons for the visit. Flipping through Waddell's address book, the official asked him whether he was homosexual. When Waddell denied it, the official commented on the excess of men's names in his address book.

The questions continued and intensified when the official discovered literature about the quilt in Waddell's luggage. Finally, the official told Waddell he needed a document proving he would not receive payment for his volunteer work and turned him back. (A legal

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ment. Off the record the judge said he felt Kowalski's interest would be best served if Thompson were guardian, but preferred Thompson select a third party.

After much thought and discussion with Kowalski's doctors, Thompson declined to name a guardian other than herself for Kowalski.

Thompson has now filed a motion to have Kowalski moved to an institution in St. Cloud, hoping to force the judge to render a decision on guardianship. Thompson knows that the judge can not stall on the issue for long, so she is hoping for a decision. It would also provide Thompson with visitation access only 12 minutes from her job, instead of the 2-1/2 hour roundtrip drive.

Thompson has Kowalski home on weekends when she is not on a speaking engagement.

"It's exciting, I love having her home and it's easier on Sharon," Thompson said.

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