Gay man attacked by two marines in Georgia / FBI and Justice Dept ponder filing Hate Crime charges

[telemann.livejournal.com]

Cpl. Keil Joseph Cronauer, 22 (left) and Lance Cpl. Christopher Charles Stanzel 23 (right)

Two Marines have been arrested [misdemeanor battery charges] for allegedly beating a gay man in Savannah, Georgia. Keil Cronauer and Christopher Stanzel are accused of attacking Kieran Daly so badly that he suffered bruises on his brain, reports the Savannah Morning News. In addition to the bruises, Daly suffered two seizures immediately after the attack. His friends performed CPR. While Cronauer and Stanzel told police that Daly was harassing them, Daly explained that the two were mad because they thought that he had winked at one of them. The Morning News reports: "The guy thought I was winking at him," Daly said. "I told him, 'I was squinting, man. ... I'm tired.'" Daly said one of the men told him he demanded respect because he served in Iraq. And at least one hurled slurs at him as he tried to walk away."That's the last thing I remember is walking away," Daly said. Because Georgia is one of just five states that does not have legislation requiring stiffer penalties for hate crimes, the marines were released to military police. The station reports that Cronauer and Stanzel are based at the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort, South Carolina and are currently restricted to the base.

There are many sad things in the story, but the most perplexing question for me is why aren't these Marines in a brig and just merely confined to their base? This story during Gay Pride month confirms for me precisely the need for hate crimes laws: states and localities refusing to treat these cases in a serious manner. The FBI and Justice Dept are looking into the possibility of filing charges under the recently enacted Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

Source.

Here's more information, and check out their commanding officer's reaction to all this. It will make your blood boil!

Comments

[chessdev.livejournal.com]

Not really -- cuz they beat him up *because* he was gay. Otherwise the winking wouldn't have bothered them.

[mrbogey.livejournal.com]

Is winking really the flimsiest reason for a fight that you've heard?

[chessdev.livejournal.com]

Not the point. The point is they targetted this dude.

And come on now -- is it really a stretch to believe these guys would target a gay man who they thought was winking at them?

We dont have to "get into the minds" of the assailants on this one -- THEY stated the reason, but it's only a problem if you have a problem with gay people.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

Don't argue with Perry Mason, he's a law expert you know?

And never mind the fact I've known people who were beaten up for just LOOKING gay. No winking required. I know a friend that was constantly beaten in school (and off school grounds). Once, on his way home from school, he was jumped and his attackers put lighter fluid onto his hair and threw a match on him. And he grew up in large metropolitan area, not in some Hee-Haw like county in Mississippi or Louisiana.

[chessdev.livejournal.com]

DAMN man -- that is living *rough* when people will light you up. Literally!

[mrbogey.livejournal.com]

'And never mind the fact I've known people who were beaten up for just LOOKING gay.'

By these two dudes? Shit, they get around.

Your logic is weak.

[mrbogey.livejournal.com]

'The point is they targetted this dude.'

Sounds so far from the OP is the guy's took offense because the guy winked at him.

The bad part about this is the degree of response, not the incitement. If someone made an unwelcomed pass at me, I'd probably at least tell him/her off.

So, if a woman hits a man who makes a pass at her, hate crime, right?

[mrbogey.livejournal.com]

'Gays are targeted for violence all of the time. '

Ok.

'I've winked at a man before and guess what? I didn't get beat up!'

Probably because he wasn't disgusted by the pass and the guy knew proportional response. We're okay with women being disgusted by a man making a pass. Yet, why can't a guy get disgusted when he's hit on by another man?

'The victim didn't make a pass at these two, they only thought he did...'

You know how many police reports contain the phrase, "the suspect took offense" in reference to some meaningless gesture like a smirk, shrug, or other mild action?

[mrbogey.livejournal.com]

'Worked in victims advocacy and can tell you more about police reports and trials than you'd ever want to hear. Absolutely no one would deserve what happened to the victim'

Well gee, thanks for making it obvious that you don't ever read anything written to you.

My first reaction to this was that it was just an overreaction to an offense. You're arguing as if I actually said he deserved it.

This is a nothing story otherwise. First page local, last page regional.

[mrbogey.livejournal.com]

Christ, stop being dense.

It's a nothing story because in every major city right now, someone is beating beaten severely over a sleight.

If a gay man beats up a woman who made a pass at him or his man, is the gay man suddenly a heterophobe? Or is he just a fucked up guy?

It's clear you're not reaching a decision based on the matter at hand. You're just looking at labels and assigning blame and judgment... maybe you ought to consider formally joining a hate group.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

Perry Mason can't figure out the obvious things, ya know?

[chessdev.livejournal.com]

Let's not replace what DID happen with a hypothetical.

The wink made them mad because they thought he was gay -- it's pretty ludicrous to pretend they would have acted that way because of the wink itself...