NYC Gay Bashing Victim Damian Furtch Says Attack On Him Part Of Larger Problem Of Violence Committed Against LBGT Community

26 year old Damian Furtch, the victim of a gay-bias attack in the West Village spoke Wednesday about growing violence against members of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, reports The New York Daily News. Furtch was assaulted early Sunday by two suspects shouting anti-gay epithets, police say, the brutal beating the third bias attack in the neighbourhood since October, 2010 "The attack against me is part of the larger issue of violence against gay and transgender people in New York City," Furtch said in a statement. "This has to stop. Under no circumstance should a person be attacked for their sexual orientation." City leaders were also outraged over the hate crime, including openly gay Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who, handing out flyers in the West Village about the attack, said that "We are sickened by this hateful attack on our streets and will not stand for it." Furtch said a group of men first harassed him and a friend about their bright-coloured clothing while they ordered food at the McDonald's on West Third Street and Sixth Ave."I stepped outside ... in an effort to avoid the tension in the restaurant and remove myself from the situation," Furtch said. But two of the men, believed to be Hispanic between 18 and 20 years old, one with a tattoo under his left eye, followed Furtch to the sidewalk and set upon him, according to police. The beaten and bloodied Furtch, who is an aspiring actor and model, and who recently moved to the city from California, said he stumbled back into the MacDonald’s to get his friend and went to St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center. The crime arrives just months after two similar reported attacks. In October, Frederick Giunta was arrested for beating a 26 year old bartender inside Julius Bar on West 10th Street. The 45 year old Giunta was sentenced early this month to 3 1/2 years in prison for punching the man as he yelled derogatory comments. Days earlier 21 year old Matthew Francis allegedly shouted homophobic slurs and assaulted a man in the Stonewall Inn, a neighbourhood bar considered the home of the gay-rights movement. He is still awaiting prosecution. NYC Police ask anyone with information on the most recent attack to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at (800) 577-TIPS.