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About 200 people gathered Sunday in Washington to memorialize Tony Randolph Hunter, a gay Marylander who died after he was attacked and beaten by four men near BeBar. (Blade photo by Henry Linser)
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HOME > NEWS > LOCAL
By: LOU CHIBBARO JR COMMENTS
 
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McCray’s request, the participants began chanting, “Enough is enough,” a call initiated earlier in the evening by transgender activist Dee Curry.
During the earlier gathering at Metropolitan Community Church, Pastor Charlie Arehart joined Hunter’s friends and local activists in expressing hope that Hunter’s death would prompt the community to take action to stop violence against gays.
Friends of Hunter described him at the gathering as a warm and caring person who considered his Christian faith to be an important part of his life.
Fonville said that on Sept. 7, hours before Hunter was attacked and taken to the hospital in critical condition, he joined Fonville and another friend in attending a gospel concert on the National Mall.
The concert was part of the Black Family Reunion, an annual event in Washington sponsored by the Council of Negro Women.
“He praised the Lord and raised his hands,” Fonville said in describing Hunter’s response to one of the gospel singers performing at the concert.
At the MCC service, Tony Neville, one of Hunter’s friends, sang the gospel song, “Lord I Need You Now,” noting it was the last such musical rendition that Hunter heard before his death.
Also speaking at the service were members of the group Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence (GLOV), who said they hoped that Hunter’s death would prompt local gay, bisexual and transgender residents to become active in efforts to fight anti-gay violence.
Chris Farris, a D.C. attorney and lead organizer of GLOV, said a rash of violent attacks against gay residents on the city’s streets and neighborhoods during the past year has created the perception that gays are under attack, even though police say crime statistics show that gay-related hate crimes have not increased in recent years.
GLOV member Todd Metrokin told of how a group of youths in Adams Morgan knocked him unconscious in July in an incident police have classified as an anti-gay hate crime. He described how he discovered after regaining consciousness in the hospital that his swollen face had the imprint of one of the attackers’ boots.
He and Farris said GLOV plans to push for a coordinated effort to educate the community, including teenagers in the city’s public school’s about the need for tolerance and respect of all minorities, including gays.
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