Press

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Saturday condemned the shooting of seven patrons in a gay bar in Roanoke, Virginia late Friday night and called on Congress to stop ignoring crimes of violence and intimidation against the nation's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender population.

A suspect identified by police as Ronald Edward Gay, 53, walked into the Backstreet Café in Roanoke late Friday, ordered a beer and after a few minutes, pulled a handgun from his coat and opened fire. One person was killed and six injured, police said.

Earlier in the evening, police said Gay visited a different bar and asked people where the gay bar was, telling witnesses that he wanted to shoot some gay people. A witness pointed him in the right direction, then called police. Police are investigating Friday night's shootings as a hate crime.

"This latest hate crime is tragic, abominable and infuriating," said NGLTF Executive Director Elizabeth Toledo. "Every hate crime is senseless. This crime is compounded by Congress' refusal to pass strong hate crimes legislation that covers sexual orientation, gender and disability status."

Shirley Lesser, spokeswoman for Virginians For Justice, said the lack of a strong hate crimes law inclusive of sexual orientation on both the state and federal levels "sends the message that violence directed against gay people is not as serious as violence committed against other Virginians."

"Virginians For Justice offers our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Danny Overstreet, tragically shot and killed late last evening in Roanoke, Virginia," Lesser said. "To those who were injured during the shooting we send our concern and support. Our hearts go out to the entire Roanoke lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and their families and friends.

A vigil to mark the shooting will be held at 9 p.m. tonight, Saturday, Sept. 23 in front of the Backstreet Café at 356 Salem Ave. SW in Roanoke. NGLTF has dispatched field organizer Dan Hawes to Roanoke to assist local organizers.

Toledo pledged that NGLTF will step up efforts to lobby Congress between now and Congress' expected adjournment, sometime in October. Of Virginia's two senators, one - Democrat Chuck Robb - has voted for hate crimes legislation, while the other - Republican John Warner - has voted against hate crimes legislation. Virginia's hate crimes law does not include sexual orientation, and proposals to add sexual orientation to the law repeatedly have been defeated by the Virginia General Assembly.

The proposed hate crimes measure, which is bottled up in a House-Senate conference committee, would add actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender and disability to federal hate crimes laws, which currently include race, color, national origin and religion. It would also enable federal law enforcement officials to better enforce hate crimes laws and prosecute hate crimes. For more information on hate crimes legislation, please visit www.ngltf.org/statelocal/hatecrimes.htm.

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The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is to build the political power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community from the ground up. We do this by training activists, organizing broad-based campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance pro-LGBT legislation, and by building the organizational capacity of our movement. Our Policy Institute, the movement’s premier think tank, provides research and policy analysis to support the struggle for complete equality and to counter right-wing lies. As part of a broader social justice movement, we work to create a nation that respects the diversity of human expression and identity and creates opportunity for all. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., we also have offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis and Cambridge.