In the last ten days, a series of anti-gay hate crimes has rocked the Georgetown University Community in Washington, DC. On Tuesday 10/27/09 at approximately 9:10 pm, a female Georgetown student was assaulted (she thankfully suffered only minor injuries) as she walking back to the campus. Two men who appeared to be in their twenties shouted anti-gay insults at her, grabbed her book bag, pushed her to the ground, and hit her with the bag. Then, on Sunday 11/01/09 at 1:32 am, a male student (also on his way back to campus) was first verbally and then physically assaulted (he was also not seriously injured). Finally, Georgetown's LGBTQ Center, which was created after a series of earlier anti-gay attacks, was itself the object of an anti-gay slur written on its door.

Georgetown students and faculty, gay and straight alike, have united with an outpouring of support for the victims, coupled with a well-deserved condemnation of the perpetrators. These events have also attracted renewed attention to the pernicious effect of past and ongoing efforts to foment anti-gay popular feelings, and use the resulting fear to mobilize political supporters opposing gay equal rights and support other ultra-right positions. Please express your opposition to these reactionary views, along with your condemnation of the attackers and unqualified support for the victims, by signing this petition.

The petition also includes an email to Georgetown University President John DeGioia. President DeGioia has been a supporter of gay rights and tolerance in the past (he worked to create Georgetown's LGBTQ Center after an earlier anti-gay attack). The email requests his continued strong support for the Center, as well as other student-led efforts to respond to and address the recent spate of anti-gay hate crimes. 

For additional information on the attacks, links to articles in the local press and Georgetown University's blog, links to other community resources, and a political poem commenting on the incident, please visit http://newsericks.com/Cura-Personalis.

Please join us in your support of this worthy cause.

PS to Georgetown University students, factulty, staff, alum, and donors: You can customize the letter to indicate your connection to Georgetown, which is generally a good thing to do.