Thousands gathered in London Friday night to rally against the sudden surge of anti-gay hate crimes in the area, including the recent murder of 62-year-old Ian Baynham, who was en route to a club for a night on the town when he was attacked. Another vigil will be held Sunday night at 8:00 pm in Liverpool.
The BBC reports: “Family and friends and thousands of gay, lesbian and transgender people turned out to mourn Ian Baynham, 62. Tributes were also paid to trainee Pc James Parkes, who suffered skull fractures after an attack in Liverpool. Rows of candles spelt out “No To Hate” and speeches took place before a two-minutes silence at 2100. ..Speaker after speaker at the vigil urged people to contact the police if they were a victim of hate crime. There was the same refrain in messages of support from political leaders of all colours. But the focus of the evening was the life and death of Mr Baynham. Speakers told of a man who grew up in a world where gay people kept their sexuality under wraps, about his wit and eloquence and his determination to always challenge homophobic abuse. We learned he had a relationship that lasted two decades, that he was well-mannered and considerate by nature, but a terrible cook. A statement read on behalf of his sister Jenny spoke of a respectful man with a strong set of moral values. And she said it was ‘so tragic that his life ended on the streets of the city he loved so much.’”
“Homophobic attack victims Ian Baynham, who died earlier this month, and James Parkes, who was injured in Liverpool on Sunday, will be among those honoured. Speeches will be made before the two-minutes silence 2100 GMT. Organiser Mark Healey said: “If we forget about these victims we could become complacent and fail to learn from the past.” Mr Baynham, 62, from Beckenham, south-east London, died from brain damage two weeks after being attacked in Trafalgar Square on 25 September. On Sunday night trainee police officer Mr Parkes, 22, was attacked by up to 20 people outside a gay bar in Liverpool’s Stanley Street. He remains in hospital with multiple skull fractures. Last week Metropolitan Police figures showed that 1,192 homophobic offences were reported in London in the year to September, up from 1,008 the previous year – a rise of 18.3%.”
Parkes Parents Speak out About The Attack
“We want to thank the investigation team for all the work they are doing to catch the people involved in this vicious attack. We are really grateful for all the support that James has received since the attack, particularly from the gay community and the police. James has worked hard to serve the Merseyside community over the last two years as a Police Community Support Officer and is very excited to be at the start of his career as a police officer. We can’t believe the ignorance of the young people who carried out the attack on someone who was just out on a night out with friends and had done nothing wrong. We are really keen that the young people involved in the attack are caught and bought to justice and would ask anyone who knows anything about the attack to contact the police.”
A vigil is to be held at 8 pm on Sunday on Stanley Street in Liverpool, where the attack took place. Hundreds are expected to attend.
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Posted from Advocate & accoring to the BBC.
