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Thousands hold hands to protest
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BY ERIN ROOK
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WASHINGTON ( OL s r >
More than 4,000 people o f all ages and
identities gathered in the rain Sunday, May
29 to hold hands across the Hawthorne
Bridge, Ernesto Dominguez o f Cascade
A ID S Project estimated. The demonstra­
tion, pulled together by local L G B T Q orga-
nizations in fewer than 72 hours, was an act
o f solidarity with two gay men who were ap­
parently attacked for holding hands the
previous Sunday.
“As beautiful as I think holding Christo­
pher’s hand is, I can accept and respect those
who disagree,” said Brad Forkner, 23, who
was assaulted May 22 while walking across
the Hawthorne Bridge hand in hand with
Christopher Rosevear, 25. “There are too
many people in the world to agree with or
like everyone. But what I cannot accept is
asserting violence on another human being
as a way o f forcing them into silence, into
hiding into fear.”
Demonstrators packed into the space be­
neath the west side o f the bridge at about
7:30 p.m., spilling over onto the ramp and
stairs to hear from the attack’s survivors.
Afterward, the crowd filed down both sides
o f the bridge with hands held. Despite being
tightly packed together, some attendees
could not fit on the bridge.
“It was truly a beautiful sight to behold
and feel so much love and support. We are
both very grateful to everyone and hope they
are all still holding hands today, and still hav­
ing conversations with those around them
about acceptance,” Forkner said the next day.
Q_Center, Cascade A ID S Project, Pride
Northwest and Basic Rights Oregon worked
together to organize the event after they
learned about the attack, which happened
almost exactly one year after the assault on a
group o f gay men in drag that sparked the
creation o f Q_Patrol.
Forkner said he noticed a group o f five or
six men behind him and Rosevear as they
walked along the waterfront and onto the
Hawthorne Bridge, but*thought nothing o f
it. As the two made their way down the off­
ramp hand in hand they were attacked from
behind by three white men in their twenties,
about 5-foot-11 or 6-foot and medium-to-
large build, wearing hooded sweatshirts—
blue, white/cream and possibly brown.
“I was shoved— I think into the railing, as
my side hurts— and punched in the face and
head several times,” Forkner said. “My first
instinct was to run and I managed to get my
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“There are too many people in the
world to agree with or like everyone.
But what I cannot accept is asserting
violence on another human being as
a w ay of forcing them into silence,
into hiding into fear.”
-BRAD FORKNER
phone out to call. 911. They surrounded
Christopher and hit him several times be­
fore noticing I was calling the police and ran
off, south.”
Neither man was seriously injured, but
Rosevear required stitches on his lip and had
a C T scan to rule out head trauma. Both were
bruised and sore. Police have not yet identi­
fied the alleged suspects, but Detective Kevin
Warren said the Portland Police Bureau is
investigating the incident as a bias crime.
“This is not the first time I have feared for
my safety or my life and, sadly, I don’t expect
it to be the last,” Forkner said before the
demonstration began. “What I want to talk
about is a much larger cultural issue we have
with making different people feel like they’re
worth less than normal people, as if there is
such a thing as normal.’ In this instance, it
was because we are gay.”
The day after the most recent attack, he