Hands Across Hawthorne

Hands Across Hawthorne

Hands Across Hawthorne was a rally held at the Hawthorne Bridge in the American West Coast city of Portland, Oregon, on May 29, 2011. The demonstration was in response to an attack, one week earlier, on Brad Forkner and Christopher Rosevear, a gay male couple. In 2010, of just over 50 hate crime incidents reported in Portland, 20 involved gender or sexual orientation.

About Hands Across Hawthorne in brief

Summary Hands Across HawthorneHands Across Hawthorne was a rally held at the Hawthorne Bridge in the American West Coast city of Portland, Oregon, on May 29, 2011. The demonstration was in response to an attack, one week earlier, on Brad Forkner and Christopher Rosevear, a gay male couple who had been holding hands while walking across the bridge. According to the couple and the Portland Police Bureau, a group of five men followed them along the bridge before physically assaulting them. The assault was condemned by Portland’s mayor, Sam Adams, and its police chief, Mike Reese, and news of the attack spread throughout the Pacific Northwest and the United States. The attack prompted volunteers from the Q Center, a nonprofit organization that supports the LGBT community, to form street patrols as a means of monitoring Portland’s downtown area. In 2010, of just over 50 hate crime incidents reported in Portland, 20 involved gender or sexual orientation, far outnumbering racial hate crimes. On June 5, 2011, residents of Spokane, Washington, held a similar hand-holding rally called “Hands across Monroe”, crossing the Monroe Street Bridge in Riverfront Park.

The Q Center also condemned the attack once again, once again prompting volunteers to form a Q Patrols as a Means of Monitoring Portland’s Downtown Area. The event received attention throughout the U.S. and was reported by newspapers and by media outlets nationwide in Portland and by Pacific Northwest media outlets in Pacific Northwest. The group of men in drag were harassed and assaulted in May 2010, and the attacks led to the formation of the Queer Patrol in July 2010, which consisted of foot patrols specifically designed to protect theLGBT community in downtown Portland. The attacks were reported by the Portland Mercury and by newspapers across the Pacific Coast and by news outlets nationwide. In November 2010, a man perceived to be gay was severely beaten and left unconscious while walking home.