Police have issue an artist's sketch of a suspect in the anti-gay attack in Ypsilanti Monday
YPSILANTI – The Jim Toy Community Center condemned the attack on an Ypsilanti resident in an anti-gay hate crime that took place March 31.
Three men beat a woman after saying they recognized her from news coverage as one of the people who got married on March 22 while the Washtenaw County Clerk was issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
"This attack was clearly an attempt not only to harm this woman, but to frighten the entire gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. We have made tremendous strides for equality this year, which upsets those who would prefer we remain in the closet," Jim Toy Community Center President Sandi Smith said. "We deplore this violence, but it will not deter our community's struggle for equal protection under the law."
"The assault also underscores the fact that our work is not only for marriage equality, but for basic safety for many members of our community. The men who beat her did so because of their homophobia, yet Michigan's hate crime law does not cover LGBT people. This is just one of the many things that need to change," said Smith.
The Ann Arbor-based Jim Toy Community Center serves Washtenaw's LGBT community.The Center echoes the call by police for anyone with information to call the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office's confidential tip line at 734-973-7711.
A sketch of one of the men involved in the attack can be found here
