Turns out you don't necessarily have to be gay to be gay bashed. Hate crime charges have been filed against an 18-year-old man in Seattle after he allegedly attacked another man on a bus.
From the Seattle Post Intelligencer:
Abiazzizi I. Idris has been charged with second-degree attempted robbery and malicious harassment, the state's hate crime statute, in the March 10 attack.
In court documents, police claim Idris was riding on a Metro coach near the 9000 block of Rainier Avenue South when he slapped the man in the back of the head. He then allegedly asked, using a slur, if he was homosexual.
The man disembarked the bus moments later, followed by Idris and an associate. Police say Idris again approached him, telling the man that homosexuality violates his religion.
Confronted by Idris, the man again said he was not gay. Idris then, police assert, "grabbed the victim around his neck and said 'Give me $10 and your cell phone and I'll let you go.'"
The actual sexual orientation of the victim wasn't stated in the article. But in Washington malicious harassment can be charged based on the assailant's perception of the victim's sexual orientation. Lucky for this victim, the owner of a grocery store saw what was going on and called police.
And some people think hate-crimes legislation is just for picking on those poor Christians.
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