Police have yet to lay charges after a man was beaten so badly outside a Halifax gay bar that he was left bleeding and rushed to the emergency room.
Sean Christie said he intervened during an altercation between a friend and a stranger who had been asked to leave Reflections Cabaret, a popular Halifax gay bar, early on Sunday morning.
Shortly after, Christie was attacked while walking down nearby Barrington Street.
“The guy that jumps in grabs ahold of me and just starts attacking me and starts giving homophobic references, like us ‘little queers think we can push around whoever we want,’” Christie told CTV Atlantic.
Christie’s face was left bruised and bleeding after the attack. He called 911, and an ambulance transported him to hospital.
A suspect was later identified at the scene and questioned by police. However, investigators did not press any charges. Police say their investigation is ongoing.
Christie, who identifies as non-binary, said he has never had a problem in his day-to-day life as a delivery driver. He fears that the attack won’t be taken seriously, both by police and the LGBT community.
“I worry that sometimes the police or the community just looks at these assaults as just an assault,” Christie said.
Halifax Pride executive director Adam Reid said hate crimes in the city are rare, but that violence against the gay community is a painful reality.
In 2012, well-known gay rights activist Raymond Taavel was beaten to death outside Menz Bar. A mentally ill man, who was drunk and high on crack cocaine at the time of the killing, later pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Hate crime charges were not laid in that case.
For victims, moving forward after an attack can be a difficult journey, Reid said.
“I can only imagine the trauma that person experienced when they’ve been attacked,” Reid said.
Christie said he’s still in shock that the attack happened so close to a gay bar.
“That should be the one place I should be safe,” he said.
With a report from CTV Atlantic’s Bruce Frisko
