Brett Timmerman, a student at UW-Platteville, was singled out and beaten for being gay.

[He] was about to walk into a local sandwich shop when his would-be attackers called him a ‘faggot’. Then Oden Waite and Enove Urias slapped and spit in Timmerman’s face and struck him in the head before pushing him to the ground. When the police arrived they pulled Waite off of Mr. Timmeman and arrested Waite. Both Waite and Urias would later falsely accuse Mr. Timmerman of starting the fight that led to a citation for disorderly conduct against Mr. Timmerman that prosecutors later dismissed.

The impact of the attack has been long lasting and life-altering. Violence like this doesn’t merely change the life of the victim; it also creates fear in those who think they may be targeted next. Timmerman is well aware of that fact:

“Every day that I went out in Platteville outside of the University, I was harassed — I couldn’t even go to the bathroom alone out of fear of being attacked again. I was constantly looking over my shoulder,” said Brett Timmerman, plaintiff in the lawsuit. “I am filing this lawsuit because I want to make sure that no one else has to go through what I went through.”

From the complaint:

GENERAL ALLEGATIONS
7. On July 3, 2005, Timmerman and a female friend named Shannon Wallace (“Wallace”) attempted to enter a restaurant in Platteville, Wisconsin, when they heard a man yell “Hey faggot!” at Timmerman in a confrontational tone of voice.
8. Timmerman and Wallace turned around in the direction of the man who yelled “Hey faggot!” and saw a small group of people, including Defendants Waite and Urias. Timmerman responded, “Excuse me?”
9. Defendant Waite then stated to Timmerman, “Why don’t you take your faggot ass back to Madison?”
10. Defendant Urias then slapped Timmerman in the face.
11. After Defendant Urias slapped Timmerman, Defendant Waite spat in Timmerman’s face.
12. At this point, Wallace placed herself between Defendant Waite and Timmerman and asked Defendant Waite what he was doing. Defendant Waite pushed Wallace aside and spat in Timmerman’s face a second time.
13. Defendant Waite then struck Timmerman in the head.
14. Defendant Waite then wrapped his arm around Timmerman’s neck and knocked him down to the ground. Defendant Waite then kept Timmerman on the ground by remaining on top of Timmerman and shoving him downward.
15. At the time of the events described above, Timmerman stood approximately 5’8″ tall and weighed approximately 140 lbs. Both Defendants at the time were significantly taller and heavier than Timmerman.
16. Each and every verbal and physical attack of the Defendants on Timmerman was unprovoked by Timmerman and was engaged in by Defendants without justification.
17. At the time of the events described above, Defendant Waite and his brother Doran Waite (“Doran”) attended the same school, University of Wisconsin – Platteville, as Timmerman. Timmerman is openly gay at school and elsewhere. Doran was with Defendants at the time of their attack on Timmerman.
18. Defendants knew or perceived that Timmerman was gay and, at the time of their attacks on Timmerman, intentionally targeted Timmerman because of his actual or perceived sexual orientation.
19. Timmerman believed that his life was endangered by Defendants’ attacks.

Read the article here.

Read the complaint here.


Jen also blogs at Transcending Gender, A Life Less Convenient, and The Nervous Breakdown. Her book is available here.