09/25/2007
Idaho Family Threatened with Anti-Gay Slurs, Eggs, Feces, Deer Head
A gay Ammon, Idaho man claims that he, his partner, and their 11-year-old son have been harassed continuously since they moved into their home two years ago, and says that the local police have repeatedly ignored their calls for help.
Chukk Nielson told local station KIDK: "We got egged, a deer put put into the mailbox, spray painted with works fag, queer, toilet papered with human feces wrapped in it, thrown up against our house."
Nielson claims that he came out one day to retrieve the mail and found a deer head inside the mailbox.
According to Nielson, the police have done little to follow up on the crimes: "We've been told unless we physically see the perpetrators doing the action, that they can't do anything about it. They did take picture (sic) every time, but never got filed, don't have case number don't know where file went."
Nielson told KIDK that the damage is now over $2,000 but that the emotional damage inflicted is far greater: "I don't feel safe in the neighborhood. Ammon pays so much for Bonneville County to protect us and I don't feel we're getting that protection. If things get worse and not taken care of, I will file a suit against the Bonneville County Sheriff's Office."
Harassed Gay Man Threatens to Sue County [kidk]
Posted 10:30 AM EST by Andy Towle in Crime, Gay Slurs, Idaho, News | Permalink
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Perhaps if they would have handed their complaints under the mens room stall at the Minniapolis International Airport, this could have been addressed sooner.
I da ho has never been a good state to live in for gays. What a shame.
Posted by: Rad | Sep 25, 2007 10:41:41 AM
This happens everywhere. I was harassed and chased across my college campus in Oshkosh, WI. Another student and a Professor here were physically assaulted and the police told me that unless I knew the identity of my attacker they couldn't do anything. Then when I found out the person's ID, they were let off the hook because the investigator in the Dean of Students' Office was blatantly ANTI-LGBT. The bottom line is that no one protects us, the ACLU and Lavender Legal, etc didn't even return my emails. Also the US Dept. of Education says that Title IX doesn't protect against discrimination based on sexuality, only sex! You cannot depend on others, you have to protect yourselves.
Posted by: Ekay | Sep 25, 2007 11:23:53 AM
EKAY yes the cold hard truth. Its called self-defense. Get some. Cause you see I would have video cameras installed. I would be finding a way to trap the perps. I would have a firearm at the ready. But then, thats just me.
Posted by: Vi Agara | Sep 25, 2007 11:28:41 AM
While the attacks are an important part of this story, the most com pelling aspect is the fact that this is TWO GAY MEN WITH A CHILD.
Outside of a square mile or two in NYC and SF, this is still a rather uncommon circumstance. Imagine what it must be like to do this in a town described thusly by its own Web site:
"Ammon was founded as a village in 1905, and is a thriving city of over 12,000 today. If you've lived in Ammon even a short time, you've noticed dramatic changes to the cityscape. New neighborhoods are popping up where only dirt bike trails and farm fields once existed. Shopping centers and restaurants are also popping up on previously vacant side roads."
Yee-hah! Let's take our adopted son to the Sizzler for dinner (again!). Har har
OK, OK -- It's easy to make fun of this rural self-boosterism, but imagine the courage (or whatever) it takes to live in this environment as a gay couple with a kid. My heart goes out to them, but my mind wishes they'd just move.
It's times like this I wish we weren't all too busy/disinterested as a gay community and that we'd descend on Ammon like blacks and their allies of other color skin (white is a color!) did on Jena, Louisiana. I think this is the only way to root out fetid backwaters of racism -- an d it may work when it comes to rooting out homophobia, too. At least they know that if you fuck with one of us, you've fucked with us all.
(And can I ask a favor? If you want to reply to my post, please don't let it devolve into a back-and-forth about the merits of the Jena 6 case. My point is not about that -- it's about mobilizing community support to create change. Thanks!)
Posted by: Becks07 | Sep 25, 2007 11:37:47 AM
this is why "gay marriage" is still a hard sell for most of mid-america.
i completely agree with BECK that i wish we were better organized as a community so as to pull a "Jena 6" protest. we should. we need more activity in this direction. we need to show our numbers and our strengths.
this poor family is being attacked, and if it were a straight family this would get national media coverage (is this on CNN yet?).
we still have a long way to go. why or why aren't we better organized?? not the HRC crap... REAL organized... with REAL protests.
(on the plus side, deer meat is one of the leanest meats available, especially if you're watching your fat intake.)
Posted by: James | Sep 25, 2007 11:57:50 AM
there is so much that is wrong with this situation. those responsible for these terroristic actions are not only impacting the adults in the family, but the 11 y.o. child, as well. who knows what type of psychological damage will occur. i can't imagine that if this household were a black, jewish, latino, etc. household that the police would be so uninvolved. whats more, this is the state whose senator was caught with his pants down in a gay-sex sting, but who has been virulently anti-gay in his voting history and who vehemently denies being gay. what kind of example does that set?
my first instinct would be to tell this family to get the hell out of dodge. but americans of any stripe should be able to live where they wish. i agree wiyh Vi Agara. i would put up surveilance cameras to catch the assholes in the act and force the barney fifes in that town to act. i might even go so far as to purchase a weapon.
Posted by: nic | Sep 25, 2007 12:08:51 PM
Once again, law-abiding gays can't rely on the police for protection.
Surveillance cameras and concealed-carry permits, guys. Your lives - and your son's - are worth protecting.
Posted by: Mad John | Sep 25, 2007 1:00:28 PM
I suspect the locals think these guys are molesting the boy. They need to meet people in town and get to know everyone.
Posted by: anon (gmail.com) | Sep 25, 2007 2:01:31 PM
Why the hell would they want to continue living in such a hell-hole? Get the F**k out! Or the VERY least install cameras and arm yourself like a mini-army and then let someone mess with you! It's called self-defense, honey.
I can understand if people can't get out, but if they WON'T, and just continue to take it, then I don't understand it. But then again, I've been lucky and never have experienced harrassment, but I believe in justice and would definitely get revenge.
And if I saw someone doing something like that and I had a gun? Then I'd be Jodie Foster in "The Brave One". Just remember to drag the bodies INSIDE the house to be able to claim self-defense ;)
Posted by: Jordan | Sep 25, 2007 2:09:52 PM
I am confused at my own reactions to this.
As having been a victim of a hate crime in the past I feel horrible for these people.
I want them to move out of there.
I want to help them.
What is the right answer? Seriously.
What are we supposed to do?
I wish sometimes there were solutions presented with these horror stories.
Posted by: Br!on | Sep 25, 2007 3:17:31 PM
Speaking as a one half of a gay male couple with a child I can tell you that when people say, "Why don't they just move away", it's much easier said than done. I have people tell me all the time that I should just move to Massachusetts from Florida if I want my marriage to be recognized. It just ain't that simple.
And BECKS07 you would be amazed at how much hostility gay men with children get from certain sectors of the gay community. I've been called a breeder, a conformer, a self-hater and all manner of other things simply because I pursued a dream that, in the minds of many gay people, shouldn't be in the cards for gay people, especially gay men.
I've even had couple of people on Towleroad say some pretty nasty things to me about my life choices.
I've come to expect some of the ignorant and hurtful comments from fundies and homophobes but it still stings when I get it from my own community.
Posted by: Zeke | Sep 25, 2007 5:06:46 PM
Having said all that let me just add that it sounds to me like these men's child is in real danger of harm in this community.
That changes EVERYTHING!
It's one thing to want to stand your ground or to stay with your roots when it's just you and your partner. That could certainly be seen as a courageous act of defiance in the face of bigotry. However it's another thing entirely to stay in a hostile environment that could harm your child.
I hope these men, for the sake of their child, will in fact do everything in their power to get out of this god forsaken hellhole.
Posted by: Zeke | Sep 25, 2007 6:31:59 PM
My partner and I raised 2 children in rural Virginia. When our daughter was 8 I bought her a .22 rifle and she learned how to use it. When she was 12 she learned how to use a pistol, and my son has been shooting since he was 6. You HAVE to learn self defense. Ideology be damned when it comes to protecting yourselves and your families!
Posted by: Mark | Sep 25, 2007 7:43:55 PM
And all of these terrorist actions are perpetrated by the good Christian, god-fearing assholes of I da Ho, no doubt. I am constantly amazed by how much pain religious zealots inflict upon others in the name of God. Family Values, indeed.
Posted by: James | Sep 25, 2007 11:46:30 PM
This is pretty boring. All you have to do is post no trespassing signs, purchase a shotgun and a rifle, stay up late a couple of nights and put these a-holes on blast. Other than that, one or better yet, two German Shephards would totally solve these problems. This isn't a gay problem, it's a patriot problem. We have a right to protect our property and by God, I would do what I have to do.
Posted by: Roy Kramer | Sep 26, 2007 5:30:03 PM
Retaliate by boycotting Idaho. All gays should boycott Idaho and always let the State know why they are boycotting. Hit them in the pocket, that is the only thing they understand. So is Ammon, so is Idaho. There are other ski places and hiking places in the country as beautiful or more beautiful where gays are more accepted and protected. Go to them and not where we are not wanted. Go to Key West, not to Fort Lauderdale. So we use are buying power to change attitudes. It works all the time.
Posted by: Oscar | Sep 26, 2007 6:58:11 PM
Boycott what? Nobody goes to Idaho anyway. Just buy a gun, I say.
Posted by: Roy Kramer | Sep 26, 2007 8:45:33 PM
I went to elementary school in Ammon, ID. Good times--lots of Mormons being taught to love their neighbors on Sunday while they and many others around them are haters the other six days of the week...
Posted by: Jimbo | Oct 1, 2007 11:09:09 PM