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| September 29, 2000 | |||
Let's Honor All Victims of Murder
The Other Victims of Friday, September 22:
Who Will Speak For Them? Every day in the United States, about 40 persons are murdered. Many more are raped, assaulted, or robbed.
Last Friday, September 22, 2000, in a bar in Roanoke, Virginia, Danny Lee Overstreet was shot dead and six other persons were wounded. The bar is reported to be a gay bar, and Mr. Overstreet and some or all of the other victims are homosexuals. Subsequently, some groups began using the tragedy in Roanoke to press for passage of a Federal hate-crimes law. The Washington Post of yesterday, September 28, reported the following:
"The Human Rights Campaign, an influential gay rights group, has stepped up pressure on Republicans such as [United States Senator John] Warner by launching a $75,000 advertising campaign on the issue this week. The group is running radio, television and print ads targeting GOP presidential nominee George W. Bush and an assortment of lawmakers, most of whom are in competitive reelection contests."
One of the problems with the Federal "hate-crimes" law is that it obscures the realities of violent crime -- and of life and death. Our hearts go out to Mr. Overstreet's family and friends, but theirs was not the only violent tragedy of Friday, September 22, 2000. Shouldn't the Congress of the United States be concerned with all the victims of that day, and the days before and since? Is politics going to blind Congress to the other tragedies?
Perhaps you've heard about Mr. Overstreet, but have you heard about these other crimes? Unfortunately, no group is spending thousands of dollars to ensure that you have.
In Minneapolis, three separate incidents on Friday, September 22, left four people dead. James Carrier, 45, and Carlos Rogers, 31, were murdered late Friday night and later found in their car on a local highway. It appeared they had been murdered execution-style. In an unrelated incident, a 24-year-old man was killed and then put back into his car, which was found wrecked. Another 24-year-old man was murdered under a 3rd Street bridge.
In Seattle late Friday night, five men were seriously wounded in a downtown shootout. The incident occurred outside a local club, and more than 15 shots were exchanged. All five victims were under thirty years of age, and three were still in surgery late Saturday morning. (Less than 24 hours later, near the old Kingdome site, four teenagers were seriously injured in another weekend shooting. They were sitting in their car at a red light when someone ran up and started shooting at them through the driver's side window.)
In Washington, D.C., 20-year-old Cory B. Allen was killed and a 15-year-old (whose name is being withheld) was wounded in what first appeared to be a random murder. They were approached in the 1300 block of 5th Street, Northwest, by another man who pulled out a gun, shot the two, and then ran. The police now believe the murder may have been caused by "neighborhood rivalries."
In Marquette, Michigan, Patti Niderson Manning was killed by her husband. The 40-year-old Mrs. Manning had become an expert on wolf-dog hybrids after her 5-year-old daughter was killed by such an animal two years ago, and she had advised the State legislature on that topic.
In North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, 29-year-old Lance Neal was murdered in front of the Hoskins Restaurant, a local family diner. Neal was arguing with another man when five shots rang out. The two may have been arguing over a girlfriend.
In Mississippi, one of the killers of 19-year-old Marcus Gentry was found guilty of capital murder. Mr. Gentry had been beaten to death with a claw hammer. In another Mississippi court, a convicted murderer and rapist was sentenced for his attack on a female prison guard. The 25 years will be tacked onto his life sentence.
In Chicago, the papers were reporting the arrest of a man who had terrorized women in beauty salons. The 32-year-old man had attacked at least nine salons and was charged with 20 counts of armed robbery, six counts of rape, and one count of attempted murder.
These are some -- a small fraction, really -- of the violent crimes that occurred on Friday, September 22, 2000. Surely crimes like these can frighten an entire community and breed fear among hundreds or thousands.
Let's remember, and seek to protect, all victims of violent crime, irrespective of the motivations of the criminal.
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