We all remember the terrible photos coming out of Abu Ghraib showing what appears to be American service members abusing prisoners. Several soldiers were discharged over the events and spent time in correctional facilities; however, such harassment and abuse is not confined to just Abu Ghraib.

Joseph Rocha, a 23 year old veteran of Iraq was humiliated and abused by his military leadership over rumors that he was a homosexual. In one incidence, Rocha was “grabbed and held by military working dog handlers in front of the kennel, duct taped to a chair rolled outside and then left in a dog kennel until released.” This event was witnessed by someone on base who reported it and lead to an investigation.

As Pride month closes we should take a moment to address the proclamation made by the President of the United States of America, issued on June 1. In his opening statement, President Barack Obama declares:

“Forty years ago, patrons and supporters of the Stonewall Inn in New York City resisted police harassment that had become all too common for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.”

Mr. President the reference to the injustices the LGBT community experienced at the Stonewall Inn falls short of addressing the harassment this minority continues to encounter throughout the country; including the abhorrent dismissal of our rights by your very own administration.

Chad Gibson had just gone to the bathroom. Police then raided the Stonewall Inn Rainbow Lounge to arrest some gays for public intoxication. As Chad exited the bathroom, he was “taken down” and suffered a severe head injury. He is still in intensive care.

The police claim that Chad fell down because he was so drunk. I suppose they would like to sell me a bridge to know where too. In spite of the lies, LGBT people and their allies are pulling together in a massive show of support. Tomorrow night, Wednesday, July 1, 2009, a candle light vigil will be held.

Over the last few days I have watched the story of the police raid on the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth, Texas unfold. Unlike my fellow blogger and friend Jay, I don’t live in Texas. In fact, I have never been to Texas.

I joined the Facebook group, I’ve read blogs from the Huffington Post, the Washington Blade, local and national news sites about this story, trying to understand the real facts of what happened. I noticed a trend in a few comments and realized that I, too, had revealed yet another form of prejudice.

It looks something like this.

Coalition Reports Gay Bias Killings Up in U.S. – The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs reports that the number of people of the LGBT community killed in bias-motivated incidents increased by 28% in 2008. This is the greatest increase documented by the Coalition since 1999. Although the FBI reports slightly different figures – “the FBI doesn’t record bias crimes against transgendered people because gender identity isn’t covered by federal hate-crime law”. The figures reported by both the FBI and the Coalition might be a little lower than reality because some (understandably) fear retribution and do not report the crimes at all. Some victims also do not report the crimes because they are not ready to out themselves to the police – possibly fearing bias from the authorities themselves. Sharon Stapel theorized that some of the violence from 2008 was due to backlash against issues from the presidential campaign. She said, “The more visibility there is the more likely we’re going to see backlash, and that’s exactly what we see here.” Whether or not that is the reason for the increase – hopefully the Hate Crimes Bill will pass in the Senate and there will be more justice and less hate.

More and more eyewitness accounts of the police raid of the Ft. Worth gay bar, Rainbow Lounge, are being circulated, many via the Facebook page set up for information on the raid. One account by a straight ally who was not arrested or ticketed in spite of admitting to police that she was drunk indicates:

“I was appalled to read the official statement issued by the police. The allegations of assault, groping, and resisting arrest were complete fabrications. Men parted like the red sea wherever the police were. No one was groping them.”

Last night, I shut jaysays.com down to honor the 40th Anniversary of the Stonewall Inn riots. I sat there contemplating how life has changed for LGBT people since that night forty years ago. It was midnight central time. Little did I know that in less than an hour, history would repeat itself as police raided the Rainbow Lounge in Ft. Worth, Texas.

According to the Ft. Worth Police Department, officers were doing routine raids and the Rainbow Lounge just happened to be on their list.

June 28, 2009 marks the 40th Anniversary of the riots at Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, New York. In the beginning, there were only a handful of men and women that took to the streets after becoming victims of another police raid. They were the spark that lit the fire and changed gay forever. As more and more people joined their movement, laws in the U.S. started changing. The struggle has been long and hard, but because of these men and women, life is a little easier for my generation.