PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Thomas Lang, Director
Portable: 978-335-0477
KnowThyNeighbor.org Calls on Governor Romney to Issue Immediate Statement on the Anti-Gay Hate Crime in New Bedford
Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA February 3, 2006 -- Tom Lang, Director of the citizen watchdog group, KnowThyNeighbor.org issued a letter to Governor Romney's Press Secretary calling for an immediate statement regarding the tragic hate crime allegedly perpetrated by Jacob Robida, 18, against three gay men in New Bedford late Wednesday/early Thursday.
The KnowThyNeighbor.org letter to Julie Teer, the Governor's Press Secretary, states, " I find the lack of timeliness by Governor Romney in addressing the victims and their families, the gay community and the town of New Bedford shameful and ask for an immediate response from his office."
Lang also gives both the Governor and Lieutenant Governor permission to use the widely viewed KnowThyNeighbor.org website as a means to address the communities involved. KnowThyNeighbor is known for its move to post the names and addresses of the 140,000 people who signed the anti-gay marriage petition last Fall as a means to check for fraud and open the dialogue on the subject of Equal Rights for gays and lesbians.
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Read the KnowThyNeighbor.org Letter to Governor Romney's Office
UPDATE: From a Saturday, Feb 4 Boston Herald article:
Meanwhile, gay activist Thomas Lang, who has published the names of anti-gay marriage petitioners on the Internet, blasted Gov. Mitt Romney and Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey for not issuing a statement on the crime.
He called the alleged delay “shameful.”
Romney’s press office e-mailed a statement to the Herald after a call yesterday but referred questions about when the statement was made to Romney communications director Eric Fehrnstrom, who didn’t return a call for comment.
Romney’s statement said: “All acts of violence are deplorable, particularly if they are motivated by hatred or bigotry. My hope is the perpetrator responsible for this heinous crime in New Bedford is held accountable for his actions.”
