Why We Need Q-Patrol

The July issue had an excellent article by Dr. John Aston ["Ten Years Later; In Memoriam: Paul Broussard"], whom I met at last year’s Hate Crime Forum hosted by Q-Patrol.

Shortly after the event, I joined Q-Patrol and was astonished to learn that they were is such desperate need of volunteers.

This situation has not gotten better over the past year.

This year was the 10th anniversary of Paul Broussard’s brutal murder. Just a week before the vigil, a patron of a local gay club in Montrose was attacked by two armed assailants on a night when Q-Patrol was not able to run a patrol due to lack of volunteers ["Q Emergency; Q Patrol has been protecting Montrose for 10 years–no more?," July OutSmart].

On the night of the vigil, we had approximately 20 people in attendance, and HLGCC President Tim Brookover did an excellent job in gathering the media to cover the event. Chris Arasin (chair of Q-patrol), Ray Hill, and others gave speeches about the need for continued vigilance against hate crimes. Ray Hill also pleaded with those listening to volunteer with Q-Patrol, and to ask others to volunteer. After the patrol and vigil, when Chris and I were escorting KPFT After Hours Show host Jimmy Carper back to his car, a Jeep with several young males pulled up and offered verbal insults, then sped away when Chris began radioing in their license plate to others on the patrol. What if it was just one person there instead of three, and no radio? Would they have sped off ... or would they have jumped out and beat him up? Thank God we did not find out.

What I find hard to believe is that of the enormous number of gay men we see each night that we do patrol, not one of them is willing to take one night a month, or even once every three months, and come walk a patrol. If we even had one person from each club volunteer one night a month, we would have more than enough volunteers to fully staff each weekend night. With the exception of the core group of Q-Patrol regulars, the most active volunteers of late have been from the lesbian and transgendered communities; most of them driving in from places such as Alvin and Missouri City expressly to make sure the streets are safe in an area dominated by clubs catering to the gay male crowd. What I want to know is if Q-Patrol has to eventually disband due to lack of volunteers, who is willing to be the next Paul Broussard?

Melanie Black
President, Texas Association for Transsexual Support
Certified Patrol Leader, Q-Patrol

Whatever happened to ...?

I’ve been a fan of Jane Olivor since I first heard her ... years ago. And I, like many others, wondered why she just vanished. After reading your interview ["The Unexpected Jane," December 2000 OutSmart] I realize that "vanishing" was the bravest and most courageous thing she could have done. Hopefully she will be around for a long time and bless us with more of her music.

Michael Sean Fisher
(via the Internet)

I love your magazine ... BUT

I love your magazine ... but you have many, many pictures of men ["Pictures of Pride," June OutSmart]. Did you forget about us lesbians?

Also my biggest issue is that I rarely, if at all, hear any stories about homosexual parents of older kids (not babies but elementary and junior and senior high). I feel very much that your magazine caters to the "single" and "looking" category of males. If you had some dirty pictures I believe you could pass for TWIT.

Please reach us all and not just who you want to reach. There are lesbian/gay parents all over this city (not just in the "gay" areas).

Tammy Arnold
(via the Internet)

Hatred in the Hallways

A big thank you must go out to Carol Petrucci, program director of H.A.T.C.H. (Houston Area Teen Coalition of Homosexuals) and the wonderful youth at H.A.T.C.H. for being part of this study. [The Human Rights Watch’s study "Hatred in the Hallways: Discrimination and Violence Against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Students in U.S. Public Schools" was the subject of "Gaybashing in the Schools," July OutSmart.]

I recommend that all interested in the education of our children read this study. It is difficult for a child to receive an education when the antigay sentiment is all over the schools, in the hallways and in the classroom. All school administrative personnel need to be aware of the damaging effect that this homophobic attitude in our schools has on the sexual minority & questioning youth, youth whose parents are LGBT and siblings and friends of sexual minority and questioning youth.

Once again, thank you, Carol and the youth of H.A.T.C.H., for being a part of this study, and thank you, H.A.T.C.H., for being there for our kids!

Cindi Murphy
Board member, H.A.T.C.H.
Editor’s note: You can read the "Hatred in the Hallways" study and testimonies from gay teens online at www.hrw.org/reports/2001/uslgbt.

Desperate Measures

I wanted to let you know about something that happened to me in Houston, Texas, where a local group is trying to get a referendum passed to strip the domestic partner benefits Mayor Lee Brown has ordered for gay and lesbian [and transgendered] city employees. On Thursday, July 5, I was with friends in J.R.’s bar in Houston, and was approached by a petitioner around 9:30 p.m. who was collecting signatures to put a referendum on the city ballot to remove discrimination protection and domestic partner benefits for gay and lesbian city employees.

He was lying to everyone in the bar about what his petition said, assuring us it was important for gay people to "be able to vote on our rights," but a careful reading of what he had people signing clearly revealed it was an attempt to collect signatures for this antigay initiative.

I always knew there were people out there who were antigay homophobic bigots, but this really takes the cake–going to one of our community bars to get signatures from gay people to sign their own rights away.

Needless to say, I shouted out what he was doing and stared him down, and had the manager remove him from J.R.’s (which might have been risky because you never know if these sickos will bash you outside the club). He had gotten five people to sign his petition in the club. That’s five steps closer to this sick initiative getting on the ballot.

I shared my story with Grant Martin, who is in charge of the opposing campaign, trying to fight any attempt to get the above-mentioned petition on the ballot. I am planning to testify, if given the opportunity, in front of election officials to try and get the signatures thrown out.

It really sickens me that the antigay crowd is so desperate to attack us that they will even lie to us to get us to sign away our own rights. [Please] let your readers know to beware of this insidious attack on our civil rights.

Scott Womack
Houston

Thanks!

I thought I would tell you how much I enjoy your magazine. I am the administrator at the First Unitarian Universalist Church, and was much surprised and quite tickled to see my photo in the latest issue. ["Pride Parade 2001," July OutSmart.] Congratulations on a great magazine–and a great photographer!

Olga Watkins
Houston