On October 6, a violent incident sent shockwaves through the LGBT community when five young men committed an assault (read hate crime) in Lawrenceville. The suspects ruthlessly beat two unarmed men for being affectionate to one another in public. Benjamin Stoviak, 26, of Squirrel Hill, and his boyfriend, Aaron MacLachlan, 22, were leaving the Blue Moon, a gay bar in Lawrenceville, on early Sunday morning when they were attacked by aforementioned perpetrators who shouted homophobic slurs at them. Stoviak refused to deny his sexuality, and the alleged attackers pummeled him for it.
The men, leaving the Remedy Bar, a block away from the Blue Moon, assaulted the couple. The suspects punched Stoviak and kicked him in the head, leaving a boot print on the left side of his face. MacLachlan ran for help, and, luckily, local residents responded.
When police arrived on Butler Street shortly after 2:30 a.m. Sunday, Stoviak’s face was bloody and bruised. Stoviak declined medical attention on the scene, but was later taken to the hospital by his friend, Kyle Fischer.
Fischer recounted the events that led up to the fateful night. He said, “The bar hadn’t closed yet, but it was pretty close to closing (1:30 a.m. approximately). They normally come back to my place to hang out after a late night, but I lost track of them. So, I went home. Sometime later, Ben called and said, “Can we come to your house?” I said yes. And when they got there; I knew I had to take them to the hospital. Aaron had a welt on his head, but Ben was pretty roughed up.”
One of the attackers, Vincent Happ, 24, claimed that he and his friends were leaving Remedy Bar and were slinging the homophobic epithets at each other. They claim that Stoviak misheard them (no reason was given for why the couple was then assaulted for simply hearing them wrong). Police charged Happ with simple assault. The other perpetrators are in custody.
Penalties for hate crimes are much more severe, but, according to Pittsburgh police Commander Eric Holmes from Zone 2 (the Lawrenceville area), “This case does not fit the criteria for prosecution.” Commander Holmes is working with the Allegheny County district attorney’s office to determine whether additional charges should be filed.
Attorney Charles Gallo, legal representation for the prime suspect said, “We vehemently deny that this is a hate crime, “This has nothing to do with anyone being gay.”
He claimed the incident was between “A bunch of drunk guys at two o’clock in the morning who got into a fight.”
At a rally Wednesday night, October 9, residents were outraged by the slap-on-the-wrist charge. Lawrenceville residents, LGBT activists and friends gathered at 51st and Butler, several yards away from where the attack took place. Over a hundred people poured out on to the street to support Ben and Aaron. Many of them held signs which read, “Gay, Straight, Black, White, Same Struggle, Same Fight.”
Lauren Jurysta stood up and said, “When one of us is gay bashed, we are all gay bashed.”
Janet Granite stood up for couple at the rally and said, “Ben and Aaron, you are not alone.” Tim Crawford from the Blue Moon said, “We are proud. We are gay and we are human beings. You have a whole gay family.”
Deb Gross, a local Democrat running for city council, was touched by the outpouring of love for Ben and Aaron. Gross said, “This is a beautiful response to a terrible event. You [LGBT residents] belong here. This is our neighborhood and we want you here.”
Mel Packer, a self-identified sixtyeight year-old straight man, stood up and said, “We must all stand together. We are not afraid and no one should have to go back [into the closet].”
Lynn Wakefield, self-identified as a proud lesbian, was outraged to learn that the police were not charging the suspects with a hate crime.
After the rally, people stood around demanding justice and getting very few answers.
Jason Clark, a Lawrenceville resident, said, “I am six blocks away from where [Ben and Aaron] were attacked. I moved to Pittsburgh nine years ago, and I have never had an issue. It really sucks that this happens. I have been walking around Lawrenceville and it makes me smile when I see LGBT people holding hands while they walk around the neighborhood in broad daylight. [In my experience] no one has given looks or said anything. I have a lot of gay friends in Lawrenceville and I have never heard of anyone having any issues. This is such a shame.”
Timothy Denham, a Lawrenceville resident, said, “My first reaction was surprise. I couldn’t believe it happened in Lawrenceville. I just don’t want people to judge the neighborhood by a few closed-minded deeply-seated homophobic people.”
