Two gay men, Samson and Kevin were severely beaten in a hate crime this weekend in Seaside, Oregon. Photo courtesy KATU.
I am very privileged to almost always feel safe in Portland and I usually feel fairly confident that I will not be gay bashed in most of Oregon, certainly in our laid back coastal areas. But this weekend 2 young gay men, nursing students from western Washington, were beaten severely in Seaside, Oregon.
The two men, Samson, 22, and Kevin, 22, said they left a campfire to walk along the beach during what was supposed to be a stress-free getaway. But the walk itself was anything but stress free — the two were beaten unconscious late Saturday night.
It seems the couple were, who had never been in a fight before, let alone been beaten unconscious, were as surprised as I am. A man and a woman were involved in the attack which included multiple uses of the word ‘fag’ in addition to the brutality.
While the head trauma has made accurate descriptions difficult we do have descriptions of some of the attackers:
- A heavy-set American Indian woman who is about 30 years old. She had a black ponytail and was wearing gray sweat pants and a matching sweatshirt.
- A husky white male in his late 20s who was the boyfriend of the female. He had a shaved head that appeared to be grown out. His hair was brown and he possibly had a goatee. He was wearing a green shirt or possibly a track jacket.
- A white male in his mid-20s who was wearing a gray hoodie and gray Carhart-type pants.
- A white male with long, black, frizzy hair that was in a ponytail. He had pale skin.
