Press

Sen. Warner so far is mum about meeting; Carol Overstreet expresses disappointment

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Tuesday delivered to U.S. Sen. John Warner a letter bearing the signatures of 140 Roanoke residents, including two members of the family of Danny Lee Overstreet. The letter asks Senator Warner to support hate crimes legislation and to speak with the Overstreet family about the issue.

Danny Lee Overstreet was killed and six other victims were wounded last Friday when a man identified by police as Ronald Edward Gay, 53, walked into the Backstreet Cafe in Roanoke, ordered a beer and, after a few minutes, pulled a handgun from his coat and opened fire.

As of late Tuesday afternoon, Virginia's Senator Warner had not contacted the Overstreet family. "We're very disappointed that he hasn't made an effort to talk to us or to support the hate crimes bill," said Carol Overstreet, Danny Lee Overstreet's sister.

Sen. Warner is one of four conferees on a House-Senate conference committee that is debating whether to keep hate crimes legislation in a Department of Defense authorization bill. The Senate version of the bill includes the hate crimes language, but the House version does not. House-Senate conferees could wrap up work on the bill this week.

NGLTF Executive Director Elizabeth Toledo said NGLTF will continue gathering signatures of Roanoke and other Virginia residents. But she added that Senator Warner can demonstrate his concern about the tragedy by calling the Overstreet family. Carol Overstreet and Misty Overstreet, Danny Lee Overstreet's niece, were among the very first Roanoke residents to sign the letter.

"As you can imagine, this is a devastating time for them, a time for them to be with family and friends and not a time for them to deal with national political issues," Toledo stated in the letter to Senator Warner. "But they know they must do something, for Danny and for Roanoke, and so they would like to speak with you as soon as possible about this horrible crime and the importance of federal hate crimes legislation."

Meanwhile, in other developments:

• Roanoke activists plan to counter an appearance by Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas at Wednesday’s funeral services for Danny Lee Overstreet. Phelps is notorious for picketing the funerals of hate crime victims as well as people who died from AIDS-related causes. Roanoke activists are asking supporters to contribute to a "Phelps-A-Thon" — for each minute that Phelps preaches, more money will be collected for medical and counseling expenses for the victims of Friday night’s shooting. For more information, please call Kathryn Marlow at 540-343-4494 or email phelpsathon@yahoo.com
  
• Rallies commemorating the Roanoke victims will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Elmwood Park Ampitheatre, at the corner of Jefferson and Elm in downtown Roanoke, and at 6:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, just outside Washington, D.C. The church is located at 4444 Arlington Boulevard, at the corner of Arlington Boulevard (Route 50) and George Mason Drive. "The Arlington rally is an opportunity for those who cannot make the trip to Roanoke but want to express their anger, grief and frustration," said NGLTF's Toledo.
  
• Another rally calling on Congress to pass hate crimes legislation and commemorating Danny Lee Overstreet will take place at 12:30 p.m. Thursday at Lafayette Park in Washington, D.C. That rally is sponsored by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.

NGLTF has dispatched field organizer Dan Hawes to Roanoke to help local activists organize and respond to the shootings. Media representatives seeking more information should contact the NGLTF Communications Department at 202-332-6483, ext. 3303, or call Rev. Catherine Houchins of Metropolitan Community Church of the Blue Ridge at 540-344-4444 or Rev. Tony Hash of the Christ the Good Shepherd American Catholic Church at 540-725-5142.

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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.