Performer's killing shocks drag community (Miss Gay Ohio)

SUMMARY: The drag community in Columbus, Ohio, is shocked after losing a popular one of their own in a dramatic killing over the weekend.

The drag community in Columbus, Ohio, is shocked after losing a popular one of their own in a dramatic killing over the weekend.

"It's been really hard," said Chris Hughes with the Columbus AIDS (news - web sites) Task Force. "Between this and some other high profile deaths here, right now the gay community is just not in a very good place emotionally."

Gary McMurtry, 36, better known as "Brazon" was found stabbed to death early on Saturday morning. Columbus police took a suspect, a stripper who sometimes shared the stage with Brazon, into custody.

With the help of tracker dogs the police found Michael Jennings, 30, several blocks away. Police said he was dressed all in black, still carrying a samurai sword -- the weapon suspected of being used to kill McMurtry. Witnesses said Jennings used to carry the sword around with him at the Columbus Eagle bar where the two performed.

McMurtry's roommate, Brain Bass, told police that Jennings broke through the back door of their house and went after McMurtry. Bass, a hairdresser who often did Brazon's hair and make-up for performances, was also injured. He is listed in good condition at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus.

At a well-attended benefit performance on Sunday, friends and co-workers remembered the man they knew as Brazon as a real drag icon in the community.

As Brazon, McMurtry performed regularly at the Columbus Eagle bar. He was ranked twice nationally in the Miss Gay America competition and was named Miss Gay Ohio in 1994.

In 1997, he created the Gay Community People's Choice Awards. The Awards became an annual benefit for the Columbus AIDS Task Force.

Sue Crumpton, executive director of the Columbus AIDS Task Force, said the event raised at least a $1,000 each year. The awards would go to people's favorite bartenders, clubs and bookstores.

"What was really nice about the fundraiser was it was something that was completely put together by Brazon," said the Task Force's Chris Hughes. "It's really nice when the community comes forward like this to support us like Brazon did."

If you'd like to know more, you can find stories related to Performer's killing shocks drag community.

Witnesses said Jennings used to carry the sword around with him at the Columbus Eagle bar where the two performed.

A rather odd detail, if you ask me, but it puts the following in a somewhat better context:

"Between this and some other high profile deaths here, right now the gay community is just not in a very good place emotionally."

The "emotional place" of a crowd that probably considered sword-carrying to be a turn-on was probably not very good to begin with.

>Believe it or not, in NYC, we have posters up down here in the Village that offer counseling to homosexuals that suffer from domestic abuse. It has been a big problem in the lesbian community for the last few years in the city.

Saw this posted in another thread:

"Woman-To-Woman Sexual Violence : Does She Call It Rape? (The Northeastern Series on Gender, Crime, and the Law)
by Lori B. Girshick

Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
Perhaps the most isolated crime victims are lesbian and bisexual survivors of woman-to-woman sexual violence. Multifaceted sexual-identity issues combine with shame and institutionalized heterosexism to make society unable to acknowledge such assaults. The legal system, women's support services, and the lesbian community are just beginning to name such behaviors, let alone confronting and dealing with them. Women's studies professor Girshick breaks new ground as she plumbs the experiences and thoughts of 70 women, gleaned from a nationwide U.S. survey and in-depth interviews. She documents the women's responses to the violence, whether they received or were denied aid, and whether silence was imposed on them. Her insightful and provocative work well may stir controversy even as it sheds light on a previously shadowed subject. Dedicated to "those who are still silenced," the book also powerfully explores the need for community and such preconceived notions and myths as lesbian utopia. A worthy addition to the sociology of violence in women's lives.
Whitney Scott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Book Description
A woman raping another woman is unthinkable. This is not how women behave, society tells us. Our legal system is not equipped to handle woman-to-woman sexual assault, our women's services do not have the resources or even the words to reach out to its victims, and our lesbian and gay communities face hurdles in acknowledging its existence. Already dealing with complex issues related to their sexual identities, and frequently overwhelmed by shame, lesbian and bisexual survivors of such...
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

The poster originally wondered if the press would someday get around to "discovering" a problem with abuse by nuns of young girls in the Catholic world...

-- KotS

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.