Two Md. Gay Men Attacked Near Be Bar

Metro Weekly reports that two Maryland men were attacked and robbed on their way to Be Bar in Shaw on Sunday night. According to the police report, a group of four men beat the victims and made off with $15 and a set of car keys. One of the victims, a 37-year-old from Clinton, is on life support; the other, a 23-year-old from Fort Washington, was treated at a hospital for a bruised jaw and then released. The victims' names have not been released and this incident may be considered a hate crime.

Sgt. Brett Parson, who oversees MPD's liaison units including the Gay & Lesbian unit he once led, told NBC4 that the "Shaw neighborhood has seen an upswing in visibility of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. The responding officers felt that there was enough initial evidence to at least raise the issue to have us investigate further."

Crimes against members of D.C.'s LGBT community appear to be on the rise in general. Late last month, a group of six men attacked three gay men in Adams Morgan. (This link includes graphic images of injuries sustained by one of the victims.) A week or two prior, two were assaulted outside the Playbill Café on 14th Street NW.

At this time last year similar incidents near Be Bar and Georgetown University were also reported. The crimes near GU led to the creation of their LGBTQ Resource Center.

NBC4 reported that 60 percent of hate crimes in the District target the LGBT community, a stark contrast to the national average of 15 percent. A report on WAMU, however, points out a few factors leading to the discrepancy, such as the GLLU's work to encourage more residents to report hate crimes, the visibility of D.C.'s LGBT community, and the community's expansion into neighborhoods that aren't traditionally considered gay enclaves.