Box Turtle Bulletin
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyJune 23rd, 2008
Flagstaff, Arizona police arrested four suspects following an assault on two people leaving a Flagstaff, Arizona Pride event early Sunday morning. The victims were in a crowd waiting for taxis along with staff and volunteers from Equality Arizona, when a group of men shouting anti-gay slurs attacked about 2:45 a.m. The most severely injured man, Michael Brown, was left unconscious and bleeding after being punched by an assailant. He was hospitalized overnight for observation and released on Monday morning.
Sam Holdren, Equality Arizona’s Public Affairs Director, was there with Michael (who is a good friend of his) and helped police identify the four assailants. The suspects are Travis Reiner, 24, of Flagstaff; Christopher Rose, 26, of Englewood, Colorado; Michael Van Roteyn, 24, of Flagstaff; and Mark Greinke, 25, of Sun City, Arizona. They are being charged with assault, aggravated assault and disorderly conduct. They may also be charged with hate crimes.
Flagstaff’s “Pride In the Pines” is one of the few Pride events held in Arizona during the traditional Pride month of June. With Arizona’s unbearably brutal summertime temperatures, Phoenix opts to hold their Pride celebration in April and Tucson has their’s in October. Flagstaff’s higher altitude and much milder climate makes Pride In the Pines a very popular destination for LGBT people from across the state. And since Flagstaff has a reputation for being a very friendly, laid back, live-and-let-live sort of a town, this attack is all the more troubling.
Latest Posts
Featured Reports
In this original BTB Investigation, we unveil the tragic story of Kirk Murphy, a four-year-old boy who was treated for “cross-gender disturbance” in 1970 by a young grad student by the name of George Rekers. This story is a stark reminder that there are severe and damaging consequences when therapists try to ensure that boys will be boys.
When we first reported on three American anti-gay activists traveling to Kampala for a three-day conference, we had no idea that it would be the first report of a long string of events leading to a proposal to institute the death penalty for LGBT people. But that is exactly what happened. In this report, we review our collection of more than 500 posts to tell the story of one nation’s embrace of hatred toward gay people. This report will be updated continuously as events continue to unfold. Check here for the latest updates.
In 2005, the Southern Poverty Law Center wrote that “[Paul] Cameron’s ‘science’ echoes Nazi Germany.” What the SPLC didn”t know was Cameron doesn’t just “echo” Nazi Germany. He quoted extensively from one of the Final Solution’s architects. This puts his fascination with quarantines, mandatory tattoos, and extermination being a “plausible idea” in a whole new and deeply disturbing light.
On February 10, I attended an all-day “Love Won Out” ex-gay conference in Phoenix, put on by Focus on the Family and Exodus International. In this series of reports, I talk about what I learned there: the people who go to these conferences, the things that they hear, and what this all means for them, their families and for the rest of us.
Prologue: Why I Went To “Love Won Out”
Part 1: What’s Love Got To Do With It?
Part 2: Parents Struggle With “No Exceptions”
Part 3: A Whole New Dialect
Part 4: It Depends On How The Meaning of the Word "Change" Changes
Part 5: A Candid Explanation For "Change"
At last, the truth can now be told.
Using the same research methods employed by most anti-gay political pressure groups, we examine the statistics and the case studies that dispel many of the myths about heterosexuality. Download your copy today!
And don‘t miss our companion report, How To Write An Anti-Gay Tract In Fifteen Easy Steps.
Anti-gay activists often charge that gay men and women pose a threat to children. In this report, we explore the supposed connection between homosexuality and child sexual abuse, the conclusions reached by the most knowledgeable professionals in the field, and how anti-gay activists continue to ignore their findings. This has tremendous consequences, not just for gay men and women, but more importantly for the safety of all our children.
Anti-gay activists often cite the “Dutch Study” to claim that gay unions last only about 1½ years and that the these men have an average of eight additional partners per year outside of their steady relationship. In this report, we will take you step by step into the study to see whether the claims are true.
Tony Perkins’ Family Research Council submitted an Amicus Brief to the Maryland Court of Appeals as that court prepared to consider the issue of gay marriage. We examine just one small section of that brief to reveal the junk science and fraudulent claims of the Family “Research” Council.
The FBI’s annual Hate Crime Statistics aren’t as complete as they ought to be, and their report for 2004 was no exception. In fact, their most recent report has quite a few glaring holes. Holes big enough for Daniel Fetty to fall through.
“Google” is a trademark of Google Inc.
© Box Turtle Bulletin. All Rights Reserved.
Posts 
Posts via daily email:
Lisa Rayner
June 23rd, 2008
We have tentatively scheduled a vigil for Sunday, June 29, time TBA.
— Lisa Rayner, Political Chair, Flagstaff Equality Team
John T
June 24th, 2008
See, this is why I support the Pink Pistols. It’s just like Sean Connery said in the Untouchables: “They send one of ours to the hospital and we send one of theirs to the morgue.”
Joel
June 24th, 2008
““They send one of ours to the hospital and we send one of theirs to the morgue.— I dont agree with the literal meaning of this but i do agree with the stance on their main page.
W”e are dedicated to the legal, safe, and responsible use of firearms for self-defense of the sexual-minority community. “
Oakland753
June 24th, 2008
I am not really surprised but still outraged that these criminal low lifes have not already been charged with hate crimes…the article says they “might be charged?”
So if this was not a hate crime then it must have been that the two gay men tried to get ahead in the cab line and the four homophobic thugs didn’t like losing their cab home from the gay pride event?
Come on, if the law is on the books, somebody be brave enough to ENFORCE it!
arizona
June 24th, 2008
Everyone seems outraged by the attacks and want to use the term hate crime. But were is the equality in this. Then a black man being attacked should also be a hate crime or anyone of different races but noooo is all about gay or lesbian. While supposedely protecting the rights of the lesbian and gay community the heterosexual community is being stomped. where is the equality in that??? I dont agree in violence of any kind and have many friends of the lesbian and gay community but “hate crime” is becoming more like ” you have to respect me and who cares about you ”
Lets be real we all dont share the same values but these days is all about “hate crimes”. guess what If I hate it I have a right to express it weather you like it or not. I feel really sorry for the injured ones but, people is about equal rights not HATE.
Timothy Kincaid
June 25th, 2008
arizona,
You are not well informed.
If a black man is attacked and the motivation for the attack was his race, then it is indeed a hate crime.
And if a straight man were attacked by gay men and the motivation was his orientation it would also be a hate crime.
Sadly, your dislike of those who “don’t share the same values” as you has blinded you to the facts of the case. It leaves you justifying a violent homophobic attack – something which I doubt you want to do.
Rather than try and twist this into some further attack on the victims of this violence and accusing them of stomping on the rights of heterosexuals, try educating yourself. It’s quicker and easier than writing comments that leave you appearing hateful and ignorant.
Jason D
June 25th, 2008
sexual orientation includes gay, bisexual, and STRAIGHT people, Arizona.
Just because gays don’t go around beating up heterosexuals, doesn’t mean they aren’t equally protected.
And why on earth should we care about the ones who did the beating? They had no right to go around beating people up for being gay.
Lisa Rayner
June 25th, 2008
I encourage Box Turtle Bulletin readers to make some positive comments on the Arizona Daily Sun article about the assault. You do not need to register to comment: http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2008/06/24/news/20080624_front_176276.txt
Leave A Comment