In case you missed it, some Portland drag queens were assaulted by a group of five men who also hurled insults (“hope you die of AIDS”) at the victims. A few days later, a community forum was held at the Q-Center to discuss the issue. Also, remember: there was a similar incident one year ago, during the Pride Festival.

The community forum included Mayor Sam Adams and the new Chief of Police. Two ideas emerged from the forum: everyone needs to do a better job of reporting hate crimes and maybe a sort of “Queer Patrol” might help.

REPORTING HATE CRIMES

On June 9, Oregon’s Attorney General, John Kroger drove up from Salem to unveil a new hate crime reporting tool at a Q-Center press conference. The new form (link) allows people to report a hate crime purely for statistical purposes (i.e. they can choose to report the incident without invoking police contact.) It also allows for a certain level of discretion in identifying the reporter.

Participants at the press conference also grilled Kroger and DOJ staffers about the lack of gender identity in Oregon’s Hate Crimes law. It should be noted, however, that gender identity is included in the new Federal Hate Crimes Law.

QUEER PATROL

Blow Pony promoter and activist Airick Heater reinvigorated an idea to have some sort of “Queer Patrol.” The Patrol would be supported by bars and clubs and would work to ensure the safety of GLBT partiers, presumably in the downtown core.

Most importantly, this is still an idea, so it will be worked out. The Queer Liberation Front is working on organizing the Queer Patrol idea.  The first meeting to discuss this is on June 17, from 7-9 pm at the Q-Center, 4115 N. Mississippi, Portland Oregon.

Links:

Blog Out, Just Out: Queer Liberation Front Plans Queer Patrol Meeting

Blog Out, Just Out: AG Kroger: Hate Crime Reporting Tool Gives Victims Privacy Options

Perry’s excellent plea for us to do a better job of reporting hate crimes, over at QPDX.com

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Tags: Gay Bashing, hate crimes