Woman Stabbed In Early New Years Day Anti-Gay Attack

[hedgehog]

BUFFALO —Buffalo Police are investigating an early-New Years Day stabbing outside of Roxy's, a gay and lesbian nightclub on Main Street near Allen Street.

Witnesses say that three women, who had exited Roxy's, were targeted by a group of four men and two women who began to direct ant-gay harassment and name calling towards the women.

The situation turned into a physical attack and resulted in Lindsay Harmon being stabbed in her face. Harmon was one of the three women leaving Roxy's.

Harmon was taken to the hospital at 3am that morning. She had surgery later that day to correct damage caused by the stabbing to her right eye. She had a 9mm slash coming from the top of her eye lid, going into her eye. Harmon's friend, Nichole Bauer says that the surgery went well and that that they are hopeful that Harmon will recover sight in her damaged eye.

Bauer has create a facebook group to gather support for Lindsay and seek out witnesses that can assist police in the capture and conviction of the perpetrators of the anti-gay attack.

http://www.outcomebuffalo.com/hate-attack-1-4-201001901.htm



Galledgoblin walked out of the same bar an hour earlier that night. It could have been one of our own!

[ck4829]

1. With an attack like this, it is imperative that the perpetrators are caught

It's only a matter of time before they do it again, and next time it might be fatal.

I remember Bill O'Really talking about lesbian gangs supposedly terrorizing people, it was, of course, 100% bull. But here is a homophobic gang ambushing people and attacking them simply because their orientation. I wonder how much air time this will get on Fox News.

K&R.

[hedgehog]

2. I can't find any trace of this in the Buffalo News or local television stations!

:grr:

[hedgehog]

3. Here are the web sites for the Buffalo News and television stations;

please take a minute and ask them why they didn't cover this story.

Buffalo News: http://corp.buffalonews.com/services/contact/submit_comments.asp?type=news_general

Channel 2: http://www.wgrz.com/company/contact/default.aspx

Channel 4: http://www.wivb.com/subindex/About_Us/Contact_Us/

Channel 7: http://www.wkbw.com/about/contact

[hedgehog]

4. Shameless request for K&R: Let's make this an issue, folks!

[Hassin Bin Sober]

15. You got it.

[Odin2005]

5. Horrifying!

:(

[Jamastiene]

6. Have you considered cross posting this or at least posting a link

to this in the GLBT Forum here on DU? More people who actually care about GLBT people might see it that way.

It just galls me that we are constantly told to be thankful we aren't given the death penalty In America just for being gay, as if we have it soooo good here in America.

We face a 50/50 chance of death and/or maiming by hate crimes every time we leave the house here in America. It could be in a grocery store, a bank, a church, a nightclub, on a pedestrian crossing, at a bus stop, or right in our own front yards. Yet, people tell us again and again to pipe down with our "pet issues."

K&R so more people will have to see the unpleasant truth we face every single day.

[hedgehog]

8. This is too important to hide in the GLBT "ghetto". If anyone on

GD doesn't care about this story, then they should consider why they are here on DU in the first place.


No disrespect to the GLBT forum - it's a great place to vent, but stories like this effect us all. I spoke with GalledGoblin about the hazards of being a lesbian two days before this attack!

[Jamastiene]

11. True, but posting a link to this OP in GLBT

might not hurt for when the "pet issue" brigade shows up to beat us down again.

Whatever you decide to do on that, I'm going to kick this OP again. It needs to stay at the top as long as possible so even the most hard hearted among DU has to see it.

[SteveM]

17. Bring everyone in on this since self-defense is involved...

Attacks often occur at the end of "last calls," and can happen for any number of reasons. Last year, a rap group was late for a gig in an Austin club and its appearance was canceled. Two of the group's members got pissed off and returned to the club with guns and both began shooting wildly through the door into the club, injuring some patrons. They were caught.

The point here is that we are in a "piss & 'dis" culture where someone is always trying to show up someone or, in the alternative, to 'dis 'em. The reasons range far and wide, and prejudice towards GLBT folks is one reason, along with gang "initiation" attacks (smash & dash), race prejudice, and general goblin activity.

I have also made another post in this thread, suggesting a self-defense method be discussed.

[Deep13]

7. WTF is wrong with people?!

Jesus, I've been saying that a lot lately.

[hedgehog]

9. Woo- Hoo! I've had two contacts from Buffalo MSM since I

wrote to them this morning! I have only a peripheral connection and referred them to the original source.

[Jamastiene]

12. Thank you for staying on top of this.

Another :kick: to keep it on top.

[DeSwiss]

10. K&R

Lindsay Harmon was stabbed outside
of Roxy's just hours after the start of 2010

- This shit must end.

[liberal_at_heart]

13. K&R

I hope they catch who did this and that Lindsay gets her sight back.

[SteveM]

14. In the future, what about this strategy for self-defense...

Virtually everyone has a cellphone equipped with a camera. When some group of blowholes starts to dis' another group, then the group being attacked should flash away.

Cell phones/cameras can be a detriment to prudent attack avoidance (you can literally walk up behind someone who is on the phone and do pirouettes and the caller would not notice). But once an attack is threatened, an opposite strength can be realized (esp. if you are in a group). Perhaps such photos can be programmed to be sent to a "home" site. Any thoughts?

[hedgehog]

18. Excellent idea - unless taking photos becomes the provocation.

Of course, for some people, just existing is a provocation! This tactic bears discussion.

[Nikki Stone1]

16. Picking Rick Warren has consequences.

People think it's ok to attack the community.

[557188]

25. McClurkin

It's not like there wasn't a clear history. People were simply fooled and didn't want to see the truth.

[Nikki Stone1]

29. A lot of us weren't fooled.

There just wasn't anywhere else to go.

[Union Yes]

19. Hate crime, pure and simple. knr nt.

[hedgehog]

20. Follow-up on media contacts: I've had one e-mail and two phone calls

this morning. The callers complained that the police report didn't mention the hate crime aspect. The point was that they didn't cover the story because they didn't realize it was a story. I have several thoughts on this:

1. Buffalo isn't that big that a reporter wouldn't know that there are gay bars in that section of town.

2. The gay newspapers picked up on this. (One caller said, well, we don't read the gay or ethnic papers. Note to reporter: Maybe you should!)

3. The story may have passed under the radar for the simple reason that none of the media outlets has enough people on staff.

4. Wow! The internet is a powerful tool. Use it wisely!

5. I'd be curious to know if this woman's partner (who was present at the attack) contacted the media and if they ignored her.

[galledgoblin]

21. another New Year's incident that Buffalo News did cover:

I just read about this one this morning...

http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/912584.html

Attackers at Galleria accused of hate crime
By Jay Tokasz
NEWS STAFF REPORTER
January 05, 2010, 6:36 AM

Two Buffalo women who allegedly used gay slurs while threatening and attacking a man in the Walden Galleria parking lot on New Year’s Eve have been charged with committing a hate crime.

The two women allegedly accused the victim of being gay and used derogatory terms while they threatened to beat him up, said Cheektowaga police Capt. James Speyer.

“This seems to be pretty unusual. This was definitely hate motivated,” Speyer said Monday.

The attack occurred at about 1:30 p. m. in the lower parking lot near the Macy’s end of the mall. The victim, a 20-year-old Buffalo man, was threatened inside the mall by a group of about 10 people known to him as members of a local gang.

He was then followed outside to the parking lot, where he was pepper sprayed, kicked, punched and robbed.

The two women charged were Joy Darden, 18, of Zelmer Street, and Deonna Burnett, 19, of East End Avenue.

“They confronted him a few times and followed him out,” said Speyer. “They were pretty brutal in their pursuit. Obviously we need to take a stance against this.”

Darden and Burnett are accused of stealing a bag of jewelry, cash and other items worth more than $1,000.

Police also found a threatening note with gay slurs on the victim’s car, which was vandalized. The vehicle was coated with a soaplike substance, and a mirror was ripped off.

Darden and Burnett were charged with robbery, grand larceny, aggravated harassment and criminal mischief.

If convicted of a hate crime, the defendants potentially face stiffer sentences, because the state’s Hate Crimes Act raises the level of the charges one category higher.

The law, instituted in 2000, targets perpetrators who select a crime victim based on a belief or perception of the victim’s race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, age, disability or sexual orientation, regardless of whether the belief or perception is correct.

When officers initially responded to a call from mall security, Darden and Burnett claimed they had been attacked.

“The offenders said, ‘We were jumped by this guy,’ ” Speyer said. “Through our investigating and talking to witnesses we learned it was in fact the other way around.”

Burnett also was charged with unlawful possession of noxious matter and unlawful possession of marijuana.

Darden received an additional charge of criminal impersonation.

[e-mail]

[Starry Messenger]

22. kick.

[Jamastiene]

23. Another kick for awareness. n/t

[LooseWilly]

24. Kick... (What a crappy way to start a new year.)

Somehow many will continue to think the only GLBT issue is the word "marriage"... while things like this slip past completely unnoticed.

[foxfeet]

26. K&R

[galledgoblin]

27. Buffalo News finally picked up on the story:

http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/913251.html

Buffalo woman stabbed in eye in gay-bashing incident
By Lou Michel
News Staff Reporter
January 05, 2010, 6:48 PM

A Buffalo woman was stabbed in her right eye after she and two friends were attacked by two gay-bashing women outside a downtown club following a New Year's Eve celebration.

Lindsay C. Harmon said she and two friends were minding their own business as they walked out of Roxy's, a lesbian nightclub, at about 2 a.m. Friday, to head home when two women, in the company of four men, shouted gay slurs at them and then attacked them.

Harmon, a 29-year-old West Side resident, does not have vision in her eye and it is not known whether she will regain it. She has seven stitches in her right eyelid and eye, along with several stitches in her right cheek and her left arm.

"It could be a long time before anything is solid, positive or negative, with my sight," Harmon said. She was transported by ambulance to Erie County Medical Center, where she underwent three hours of surgery.

"I hope the police catch the woman who stabbed me. I want to sit in front of her and ask her how and why you do this," Harmon said. "I don't understand it. I really don't know why anyone at all would attack someone. I wonder how somebody brings themselves to attack another person."

The attack occurred a little more than 12 hours after two Buffalo women were arrested on hate crime charges for attacking a 20-year-old man they allegedly claimed was gay in the Walden Galleria parking lot.

But there apparently is no connection between the two incidents.

Buffalo police issued an appeal this afternoon urging anyone who witnessed the latest attack, on the border of Allentown, to call the confidential tip line at 847-2255.

"Somebody may have seen something and we're asking them to come forward," police spokesman Michael J. DeGeorge said.

The stabber was described as a 19- to 23-year-old, pale white-skinned female, about 5 feet, 6 inches tall, 120 to 130 pounds, with wavy, dirty blond hair and wearing a tiara that was left at the scene. She also was wearing a white-colored bubble coat, brown boots and blue jeans. Her companion, also white, was estimated to be 22 to 24 years of age, about 140 pounds with dark hair.

[e-mail]

[myrna minx]

28. That's horrifying. K&R n/t

[hedgehog]

30. The Facebook link

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&gid=233833167051