The suspects in the Halloween attack on two gay men in Long Beach, California have been charged with a hate crime, officials said. Sally Thomas, head deputy district attorney for the Long Beach office, on Monday reviewed and amended the case, adding a hate crime allegation to the counts. When charges were first filed last Wednesday in Long Beach Superior Court, the hate crime allegation was not among the counts, said Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman with the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office. The two Long Beach suspects, Marquise Lucas, 19, and Sierus Lamar Dunbar, 27, reports The Press-Telegram, were each charged with one count of battery with serious bodily injury and one count of assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury. Lucas also was charged with a second count of assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury. Both men pleaded not guilty, Gibbons said. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for November 17. The Halloween attack occurred near The Gay and Lesbian Center of Greater Long Beach in front of several witnesses, who contacted police and paramedics for help, said Wade Cook, 53, one of the men who was attacked. Both men sustained moderate injuries and were taken by Long Beach Fire Department paramedics to a local hospital. One of the men was released November 1 and the other survivor, who is in his 60s, was released Wednesday said. The attack occurred about 8:15 pm after the victims, both in their late 50s or early 60s, had left The Center. They were soon approached by two male suspects who called them a derogatory name for gays, the second victim said. As the two men walked past the suspects, one of them took a cell phone picture of the harassing suspect while the other man was preparing to contact police. But the suspects attacked the men. One of the suspects pushed one of the victims onto the ground and stomped on the man's hand in an attempt to grab his cell phone, said the second victim, who did not want his name mentioned. The other suspect knocked the other victim onto the sidewalk before they rolled into the street. When the victim the first victim got up and made his way to the sidewalk, the suspect punched him in the face, and the man fell onto the sidewalk and became unconscious, the victim explained. One of the men sustained a cut to his left eyebrow, a bruised hip and blunt trauma to his left hand. The other survivor sustained injuries to his mouth and some damaged teeth, the victim said. The suspects fled on foot, but were detained and eventually arrested by Long Beach police officers near Third Street and Cherry Avenue, said Nancy Pratt, a spokeswoman with the Long Beach Police Department. Anyone with any information regarding the incident is asked to contact Crimes Detective Jackie Bezart at 562-570-7250, or anonymously via text or the Web at www.tipsoft.com.
A week after a gay rights advocate was murdered, his friends and family came together to remember him. Darius Chambers moved to Chicago from Cincinnati three weeks ago to start a new job. He was beaten to death during a robbery last week. On Sunday, reports WKRC, friends and family in the Queen City celebrated his life at the Truth and Destiny Covenant Ministries Church. Chambers moved to Chicago three weeks ago to start a new job. Last Sunday morning, Chambers and a friend left a party and were at a bus stop when some teenagers took Darius's friend's cell phone. Darius's mother said the three teens beat her son when he tried to defend his friend. Darius was Rosa Hardy's last living child. His older sister was murdered two years ago. Rosa Hardy said, "I'm just overwhelmed at the support Cincinnati has given Darius. We are not Cincinnati natives we are from Alabama and Darius had some issues in Alabama which caused him to relocate but he came here and really made an impact." Darius Chambers lived in Cincinnati for three years, working with Equality Cincinnati and other gay rights organizations. Kristin Shrimplin said, "He taught me the importance of being approachable, of being loving, kind and wearing a smile to stranger." Now Chambers' friends say they will honour him by continuing his work. Pastor Lesley Jones:" You know, we can take tragedy and turn it into triumph people of faith, people that still believe there is still good in the world and that was the kind of person Darius was. He believed there was still good." Blue balloons were released at the end of the service and blue ribbons were handed out to symbolize justice for Darius. His friends and family say they will be following the case. They'll be calling and writing the prosecutor in Chicago to ensure those who took his life are held accountable. Three teens are in jail in Chicago for Chambers' murder. He will be laid to rest in Alabama later this month.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will not take any action after Brett Ratner made and then apologized for making an insensitive comment during a question and answer for his film Tower Heist. AMPAS president Tom Sherak told Deadline.com he is standing behind Ratner after the filmmaker apologized for saying that “rehearsal is for fags.” But Sherak made it explicit that another indiscreet comment will not be tolerated. “His remarks were inappropriate,” Sherak said. “He said it best in his apology, that his comments were dumb and insensitive. When you think of our community, it went against all the beliefs of the creative community we represent. He knew it was wrong and he issued that response as quickly as any human being ever has. The bottom line is, this won’t and can’t happen again. It will not happen again. He apologized and we will move forward. How do I know this? I’ve known this man for a very long time. He has many friends who are members of the gay and lesbian community. The apology he gave I truly believe comes from his heart. If I didn’t believe it, I would do something about it. This is about integrity and honouring the Academy Awards, but we all make mistakes and I believe he didn’t mean it.”
Apparently, after winning two MTV European Music Awards, Justin Bieber spent the early hours of Monday morning in Belfast, Ireland’s notorious gay club, Kremlin.
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