Rafael Correa, the left-wing president of Ecuador, has proposed a new constitution for the country that would recognize same-sex couples and bestow basic rights. A gay U.S. citizen was attacked last month in Quito. (Photo by Dolores Ochoa/AP)
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REBECCA ARMENDARIZ
Friday, August 22, 2008
As
a
frequent
traveler
to
South
America,
Jeff
Sunner
was
accustomed
to
breathtaking
scenery
and
friendly
locals.
But
when
the
39-year-old
Phoenix
man
and
his
boyfriend
vacationed
in
Ecuador
last
month,
they
had
a
very
different
experience.
Sunner
said
the
couple
had
gone
to
eat
and
drink
at
a
gay
bar
July
20
before
he
decided
to
continue
on
alone
and
asked
a
security
guard
for
directions
to
another
bar.
Although
there
are
multiple
gay
bars
in
the
touristy
area
of
Quito
where
the
couple
stayed,
the
establishments
are
not
well
advertised.
And
while
policemen
line
the
streets
of
Ecuador,
Sunner
said
it’s
“very
hard
to
distinguish
who
has
what
authority.”
Sunner
said
the
directions
he
received
were
incorrect,
so
he
turned
around,
when
three
men
approached
him.
“It
happened
20
feet
from
the
guard
I
asked
for
directions,”
he
said.
Sunner
said
the
men
choked
him,
cutting
off
his
air
supply
and
making
him
fade
in
and
out
of
consciousness.
Sunner
noted
that
as
he
lost
control
of
his
bowels,
the
men
tried
to
steal
his
clothing
and
repeatedly
called
him
“maricon,”
an
anti-gay
epithet.
The
security
guard
Sunner
encountered
earlier
watched
and
laughed,
he
said,
until
the
attack
stopped
and
the
men
left.
Sunner
said
he
eventually
found
another
security
guard
and
was
told
that
all
guards
have
assigned
jurisdictions
and
aren’t
obligated
to
help
people
outside
of
their
own
areas.
The
police
wouldn’t
file
a
report,
Sunner
said,
and
told
him
that
laws
say
bruises
or
marks
have
to
last
for
three
days
or
longer
before
a
person
can
file
charges.
The
only
formal
recognition
of
the
attack
came
from
a
regional
newspaper,
Últimas
Noticias,
which
printed
an
interview
with
Sunner
along
with
its
report
of
the
assault.
Sunner,
who
said
the
men
attacked
him
because
he
is
gay,
is
now
advising
other
gay
travelers
to
avoid
Ecuador.
“In
a
machismo
society
like
that,”
he
said,
“you’re
not
going
to
laugh
at
another
man
being
beat
up
right
by
you.”
The
U.S.
State
Department,
which
details
the
dangers
that
Americans
can
face
when
traveling
to
foreign
countries,
notes
the
district
where
Sunner
was
attacked
is
dangerous,
but
makes
no
mention
of
bias
crimes.
Sunner
said
he
received
an
apology
from
Efraín
Soria,
a
program
coordinator
at
Fundacion
Ecuatoriana
Equidad,
an
Ecuadorian
gay
rights
organization.
In
an
e-mail
to
Sunner,
Soria
asked
him
not
to
judge
the
entire
country
by
this
one
incident.
Homosexuality
has
been
legal
in
Ecuador
since
1997,
but
there
is
no
legal
recognition
of
same-sex
couples.
Ecuador
has
anti-discrimination
laws
that
include
sexual
orientation,
according
to
the
International
Lesbian
&
Gay
Association.
Rafael
Correa,
the
country’s
left-wing
president,
has
proposed
a
new
constitution
for
the
country
that
would
recognize
same-sex
couples
and
bestow
basic
rights,
said
Andrés
Duque,
an
activist
and
blogger
who
focuses
on
gay
rights
in
Latin
America.
Duque
said
that
although
the
government
has
worked
toward
increased
acceptance
of
gays
and
lesbians,
the
country’s
people
don’t
always
reflect
those
efforts.
“Not
that
[the
attack
on
Sunner]
is
excusable,”
Duque
said,
“but
I
think
that
sometimes,
culturally,
you
can’t
translate
the
experience
of
living
in
the
U.S.
as
openly
gay
to
visiting
a
country
that
is
just
recently
dealing
with
openness
in
terms
of
LGBT
issues
and
expect
it
to
be
the
same.”
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