[ OUR OPINION ]

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Step up enforcement
of hate crimes law
to stem violence
against homosexuals

THE ISSUE A tourist who was beaten in Waikiki says her assailants attacked her after she told them she is gay.

THE brutal assault of a gay visitor from Oklahoma in Waikiki a week ago has all the ingredients of a hate crime, coming five days after the beating of a man who had just left a Waikiki bar popular among gays. The incidents should cause police to exercise vigilance to halt what might be the beginning of a wave of such violence.

BRYANT FUKUTOMI GRAPHIC

Pam Disel, the 25-year-old victim of the more recent incident, has criticized Honolulu police for failing to investigate her attack aggressively. She had planned to move to Hawaii but has changed her mind. "There is a person or persons who will hit you for being gay," she said. "The police department will do anything to avoid doing something about it."

Those are harsh words, supported by Ken Miller, executive director of the Center, also known as the Gay & Lesbian Community Center. "Do we have to wait for someone to get killed before police do anything?" he asked.

Hate crimes, which result in longer sentences for those convicted, can be difficult to prove. The Star-Bulletin did not favor passage of Hawaii's hate crime legislation. Nevertheless, in Disel's case, the motive strongly supports such a charge; one of her two assailants asked Disel and two lesbian companions from Ireland if they were gay, Disel responded, "Yes," and one of the men then hit her in the face. She suffered a concussion, a broken jaw and several facial fractures.

The Sept. 18 assault of Tim Noreuil after he left Hula's Bar & Grill is more difficult to ascribe to perceived sexual orientation. Noreuil said he had no idea what prompted the attack but does not believe it was motivated by his departure from Hula's.

Miller's contention that police are too hesitant in accusing a suspect of a hate crime seems to be supported by statistics. Nationally, law enforcement agencies reported 7,464 hate crimes in 2002, the most recent year in which statistics were gathered. In states with populations near Hawaii's, agencies reported 50 hate crimes in Idaho, 48 in Maine, 28 in New Hampshire and 43 in Rhode Island.

Hawaii reported only two hate crimes in 2002 -- a university student who harassed a fellow male student at a dormitory for "appearing homosexual" and a mentally ill female who threatened the life of a doctor while expressing bias against Caucasians and Japanese. The only incident reported last year involved a 45-year-old black non-citizen charged with harassing a grocery store customer while using anti-white epithets.

To obtain a clearer picture of the problem, hate crimes should be reported regardless of whether the offender has been arrested or convicted, a consideration that might explain the drastic difference between figures reported from Hawaii and from states of similar populations.

Disel's incident should be recorded as such. If her assailants are caught, a jury should be asked to find beyond a reasonable doubt that her attack was prompted by their hatred of lesbians. Police and prosecutors should be aggressive in achieving that result.