|
|
| Join a discussion or start one of your own! |
| Danny Overstreet's funeral |
| Return to story index |
Printed Sept. 25, 2000
By MIKE HUDSON, KATHY LU and CODY LOWE
THE ROANOKE TIMES
The crowd Sunday night came to grieve, share information, vent anger -- and talk about how to stop the hatred and violence that left one dead and six wounded this weekend in Roanoke at a bar frequented by gays and lesbians.
It was the second night in a row that gays, lesbians and heterosexuals gathered in large numbers to talk about Friday night's shootings. More than 150 people tried to cram into a Kirk Avenue church with a capacity of a few dozen people. Twenty minutes into the community forum, the word came that the city fire marshal had asked the meeting be moved outside Metropolitan Community Church of the Blue Ridge.
Overfilling a venue is "a good problem to have," Dan Hawes, an organizer with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, told the crowd as it reconvened in the street in front of the church. He said it was a sign that people are ready to come together and fight for change.
And he said it's not just happening in Roanoke.
"This is starting to bust out all over the country," Hawes said.
Sunday in San Francisco, the gay pride rainbow flag that flies over the Castro district was lowered to half staff in memory of Danny Lee Overstreet, who died in the Roanoke shootings that police say were motivated by anti-gay feelings. Hawes said people across the nation are prepared to hold vigils to coincide with a large ceremony being planned for Thursday night in Roanoke.
The location for the Thursday vigil is undecided, but smaller candlelight vigils will be held every night until then outside Backstreet Cafe, the Salem Avenue tavern where the shootings happened.
Hawes also announced that a fund is being set up to pay for therapy and medical bills for the shooting victims and those who witnessed the violence.
As he was announcing that he already had a $100 pledge, someone walked up and put a $10 bill in his hand. It came from Loretta and Jim Ferrin, a married couple who said they came to the meeting to represent Mountainville Neighborhood Watch, a group in Roanoke's West End.
"This is the type of crime Roanoke doesn't need," Loretta Ferrin, 63, said. "I don't care if you're straight or not, this injustice is intolerable."
Ronald Edward Gay, 53, has been charged with murder in Overstreet's death. Police say they also expect to charge him with several counts of malicious wounding.
Police spokeswoman Shelly Alley said all six remaining shooting victims are expected to survive. Two of them, Kathy S. Caldwell and Joel I. Tucker, were discharged from Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital on Sunday. Iris Page Webb remained in critical condition. John W. Collins was in stable condition, though he was heavily sedated in intensive care.
Since the shootings, churches, community groups and individuals have been trying to find ways to respond.
Emotions were high Sunday morning at Metropolitan Community Church, a Christian congregation whose membership is predominantly gay and lesbian.
Its 11 a.m. service drew almost 70 people -- including about a half-dozen reporters and photographers -- and was marked by tears, hugs and prayers.
The congregation included three women who had been in the Backstreet Cafe at the time of Friday's shootings: Anna Sparks, who identified the shooting suspect to police; her partner, Sue Stroud; and Pulaski County resident Judy Opincar.
Opincar said she came to church to be with family, "people who support me."
Sparks said it was "a little hard getting back out into the public, but on the other hand it's hard to be by yourself. . . . We keep the TV or something on all the time."
Both Sparks and Stroud wore black Backstreet Cafe shirts. Sparks said they wanted to show their respect for the the cafe "and to let the people there know we still love them."
Another churchgoer, Rhoda Chattin, said the shootings sent a chill of fear throughout the gay and lesbian community. Gathering at church "gives us the strength to do all we need to do" to fight intolerance and hatred of gays and lesbians.
A week ago, more than 1,000 people came to Roanoke's Highland Park for Pride in the Park, which celebrated tolerance, diversity and gay pride.
"We were so elated," Chattin said. "It was like we were invincible. Then this happens, and now we're picking up and beginning again."
Staff writer Mike Allen contributed information to this story.
Let any elected or appointed official know what you think and how you feel by CLICKING HERE. Here's your chance to petition the government for a redress of grievances.