Event puts hate crimes in spotlight

Montana state Sen. Christine Kaufmann will be in Whitefish on Monday to participate in a panel discussion on anti-gay hate crimes and the bullying of gay youths in schools.

Kaufmann, D-Helena, is expected to address the Legislature's failure to include sexual orientation and gender identity under Montana's hate-crimes law and the impact of hate crimes on the larger community.

The hate-crimes law protects classes of people historically discriminated against because of race, religion, politics or minority status, but does not specifically include sexual orientation and gender identity. Legislation to include those categories in the law has been defeated in each of the past 15 years, Kaufmann said.

"We want for victims of this kind of violence to know that there is community support," she said. "And we want to make the perpetrators of this type of violence understand that their behavior is not acceptable."

The panel also hopes to promote general public awareness about the number and severity of hate crimes against gay Montanans.

"We hope to educate people as to why it is important to protect people with a different sexual orientation," said Rebecca Leinberger, the member of the Montana Human Rights Network who organized the event. "I think it's society's duty to protect its citizens."

In addition to Kaufmann, the panel will include University of Montana psychology professor Bryan Cochran and history professor Anya Jabour, and Polson High School science teacher Jim Rogers. Rogers will speak about the bullying of gay youths in school as part of a cycle of violence rather than a typical rite of passage.

"We're trying to make the learning environment safe for all students," Rogers said.

Polson High School adopted an anti-bullying policy specifically written to include gay, lesbian and transgender students, and Rogers hopes other schools will consider doing the same.

"We want to alert people about the situation in the schools." Rogers said. "This bullying can be tough to identify, but it does occur on a regular basis."

The event was organized in response to recent attacks on area gay men. A Columbia Falls man was beaten in his driveway last March and a Missoula man was attacked and left for dead less than two months later, both because they were gay.

The discussion will be at 7:30 p.m. Monday, June 4, in the O'Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish. The panel will be preceded at 7 p.m. by the screening of the documentary "The End of Silence: Montana Gay Youth Speak," and followed by a question-and-answer session from 8 to 8:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.