anti-LGBTQ hate crime

“He said we shouldn’t be holding hands,” John-Paul Kesseler remembered, before the attacker started beating him with a wine bottle.

The attack is part of an epidemic of hate crimes currently sweeping New York City.

The attack made eating difficult and left the victim afraid to go out, but it was also “a wake up call for me to realize how precious life is.”

This is the fourth time he’s been attacked in the past year as anti-LGBTQ assaults are on the rise in his city.

The victim suffered significant injuries that will require surgery, but he still had a message for others: “Don’t let anyone or even this type of situation dim your light.”

The victim, who immigrated to America to escape violence and abuse in his home country, had to quit work because he is suffering from anxiety and depression.

25 years ago this month, there was an instant when I was afraid that my number might have been up… and then Homer showed up.

Samuel Luiz’s friends heard the attackers shout “you fucking fag!” because they were on the phone with him, powerless to do anything to help.