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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

December, 1990

DEA agents sued for anti-gay beating

In what is believed to be the first anti-

gay violence case brought against employees of the United States government, two New York men are suing three agents of the federal Drug Enforcement Agency who they say beat them viciously in 1988.

The suit, which seeks $1.5 million in damages, charges that two Manhattan residents, Marc J. Anderson and Jeffrey E. Grubb, were brutally assaulted by three DEA agents following a minor traffic incident. While beating Anderson and Grubb, the agents repeatedly called them "faggots" and made other derisive comments. Specifically, the men, represented by the ACLU, are charging that the agents' unwarranted physical and verbal attacks-in addition to the false imprisonment and false arrest of Grubb and Anderson violated the couple's Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights.

The DEA agents attacked the two men in the early evening of November 16, 1988, when the couple's motorcycle nicked the bumper of an unmarked black sedan parked outside of the Upper West Side architecture office where Anderson works.

Before he could get off his motorcycle, Grubb was assaulted by one of the three agents. And when Anderson came over to attempt to talk to the man beating his lover

of more than six years, he was brutally attacked by the other two agents.

"When I saw what was happening to Jeff, I came over to tell the guy that he

didn't need to do that, that we could talk about it," Anderson said. "But before I could even finish the sentence, I was jumped from behind by two guys."

After this initial round of violence,

Grubb asked his lover if he was okay, prompting an additional beating. "One of the agents said, 'Don't worry about your boyfriend, you ugly faggot,"" Grubb said. "Then two of them attacked me and dragged me down the street."

Before the incident was over, both Grubb and Anderson had been beaten in the face, head, back, chest and stomach.

Both suffered numerous physical injuries and required the care of a physician. In addition to being beaten by the three DEA agents, the gay men were arrested and charged with numerous crimes that were later dismissed before going to trial. At no time did the DEA allege that the case involved drugs in any way.

The three DEA agents are identified in the court papers as Dennis Branen, Ross Kindestin and Ed Wisniefski, each of whom was employed as an agent of the Drug Enforcement Agency at the time of the attack. The suit is also being filed against the United States government itself.

Although Grubb and Anderson filed a complaint with the Justice Department against the three agents, the government— after a lengthy investigation declined to press criminal charges against the men.

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Confronting violence against lesbians and gays

by Carlie Steen

Rodney Johnson, a waiter in Georgetown, was walking home from work one morning. As he went through an area of tacked by skinheads who crushed his skull town frequented by gay men, he was atand broke his ribs and hands with bats, yelling "Die, faggot, die!"

This incident was the third in a series of three beatings in the area. Previously the skinheads beat up two men who they had thought to be gay, as well as a young member of their own clan because he was racist. These skinheads were considered "good" skinheads because they were not

racist.

"(There is an) upsurge of violence against gays and lesbians by hate groups," according to Linda Delaney, the Washington, D.C. attorney who successfully brought Rodney Johnson's case to trial.

Although the Johnson v. Mark Hyder, et al case marks the first time a victim of anti-gay violence has sued members of an organized hate group for civil damages under federal civil rights law and local common law, Johnson's case is only one example of the hate crimes being brought against gay men and lesbians. Over one million individual incidents of violence occur every year against gays and lesbians, according to San Francisco-based Community United Against Violence.

Their studies also show that lesbians and gays are more often the target of hate violence than any other group.

One case in Michigan involved a 17 year old who, after talking with some boys who had just beaten up a gay man, found the man and killed him with a sledgehammer.

But these crimes don't stop at the initial violence. In the latter case the jury acquitted the sledgehammer killer, saying he had

been affronted by a homosexual proposition and thus suffered enough-the "Gay Panic" defense.

Ending this violence is essential. And education is the key.

"The only way to get rid of the 'gay panic' stuff is to get rid of gay panic," according to Delaney. "You can't let faggot jokes go by when a kid is three. Sexuality has to be de-mystified on every front. "The keys to reducing anti-gay violence is education and empowerment."

The most important place to begin education is with young people. At this point over 60 percent of the hate crimes are being committed by young men under 21 years old.

Studies are showing that there is an even deeper scar from hate crimes: post-traumatic stress syndrome.

"Because there are legal proceedings going on, the beatings are not really over," Delaney said. "The thing isn't over until they've told the jury and the judge what happened that night," which means the victim must keep alive the feelings inside of them to be able to convey it to the jury.

And another problem persists. A "climate of permissive aggression" exists when archaic laws remain on the books. If laws exist regarding sodomy and other similar acts exist, whether or not they're being used isn't the point. The fact that they're on the books is enough of an affront that something should be done.

And finally, confronting the violence against gays and lesbians includes a combined effort of litigation and the legislative process. More cases that result in favor of lesbians and gays need to get publicized in the community so people know what's going on and are less afraid to come forward with their own incidents.

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