Austin Texas Article: Two Gay Men Say They Got Bashed After Leaving Gay Bar On Christmas Night!!!
Men: We were attacked for being gay
At least 2nd attack this year on 4th Street
Updated: Tuesday, 28 Dec 2010, 8:27 AM CST
Published : Monday, 27 Dec 2010, 9:03 PM CST
AUSTIN (KXAN) – Bobby Beltran and Christopher Ortega are still in shock about what happened to them early Sunday morning.
“This happened on 4th Street, right in the middle of everything, on Christmas night,” Beltran said.
The two were wrapping up Christmas celebrations at Rain , a gay bar. Around closing time, they left and parted ways on the corner 4th and Lavaca with a hug.
“Shortly thereafter, a car drove by,” Beltran said.
Inside the car, according to both Beltran and Ortega, were five men who started yelling homophobic slurs.
“After that, I said, ‘Get out of here. That stuff is not welcome out here in Austin,’ ” Beltran said.
What happened next, the two did not expect. The five men got out of the car and for the next 5 to 10 minutes, the men took turns kicking and punching the both of them.
During the beating, both Ortega and Beltran say the men continued yelling homophobic slurs.
“You could tell it was almost coordinated,” said Ortega.
The two say the only thing they were thinking was, “Where are the cops?”
And, “Stay alive. Keep your face protected. Stay alive, survive,” Beltran said.
The attack stopped after a friend yelled the cops were coming. When they did show up, they didn’t have much to say, according to the two men.
“The response was, ‘Sorry guys. We’ll give you a report number. We’ll never catch these guys,’ ” Ortega said.
This is at least the second time this year two gay men have been beat up after leaving a gay bar on 4th Street. The first beating happened in February just down the street near City Hall. So far, no arrests have been made.
“I’m going to keep on pursuing this because I want justice. I want to know that this is not going to happen again to anybody,” Beltran said.
Statistically speaking, if caught, the attackers probably won’t face hate crime charges.
According to statistics from the Texas Department of Public Safety, since Texas enacted its hate crime law back in 2001, more than 2,500 hate crimes offenses have been reported. Of those, only 11 have been prosecuted.
This legislative session the Texas House will vote on a bill that will study the hate crime law in Texas to determine why it’s rarely used. Last month, KXAN Austin News took a closer look at that bill. Click here to read the story.
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