BREAKING: OR House Unanimously Passes Federal Hate Crimes Resolution
May 19, 2009
Today the Oregon State House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution 59-0 requesting that the United States Congress pass the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (LLEHCPA) and condemning a recent brutal beating of two gay men at a Seaside, Oregon beach. The two men, Samson Deal and Kevin Petterson, were on spring break March 22 at a Seaside, Oregon beach when several men dressed in black approached them from behind and beat them until they fell unconscious. After an initial review of the case, Seaside Police Chief Bob Goss announced that his department would be treating this as a hate crime because the victims indicated that the assailants had yelled anti-gay slurs during the attack. Find out more about the hate crimes bill and take action at www.FightHateNow.org.
