Hate crime targets Irving College man – Historic home vandalized
|
?I?m just the same as everyone else except for my sexual orientation,? said Neal Anthony who has lived in Irving College his entire life in the historic home of his family built in 1851. ?I don?t bother anybody. It?s just not right for people to attack someone because they are a little different.?
Lawmen are investigating two attacks on Anthony?s home. The first was a paintball shooting where his house was riddled with 81 paintballs. The second came less than a week later when youths spray painted anti-gay messages on his house. The criminals added insult to injury by spray painting insults about his 82-year-old mother, who is now in a nursing home.
?I?ve suffered through being called a queer and living where you can?t be yourself,? Anthony recalled of harassment brought on by his homosexual lifestyle. ?The thing is that experts say the people who do things like this are struggling with their sexual identity themselves.?
Anthony believes the vandalisms are the work of teenagers, noting the last spray painting attack came in two parts, the second coming minutes after deputies came to his home to investigate the first attack.
?I saw two kids jumping the chain fence like a couple of kangaroos,? Anthony said, noting the attack also involved windows broken at his home.
A closer inspection of the damage revealed at least two death threats saying things like ?all fags will die.?
While saying he does not feel safe in his own home, Anthony said he dares not take the law into his own hands even though some have suggested he shoot intruders.
?If I shot at someone, or shot someone, I?d be put under the jail,? Anthony said, noting he plans to let law enforcement handle the case.
When there are arrests, which Anthony said he anticipates in the near future, he has an idea of what should happen to the offenders.
?I?d love to see those kids, and their parents, to come down here and clean and fix up the damage they did,? Anthony said. ?It?s tough work because the paint is on the siding so it has to be cleaned off with chemicals and it doesn?t come off easily.?
While both angry and fearful over the attacks, Anthony said the vandalisms are only the latest in the harassment and taunts he has had to endure for being openly gay.
?I?ve had someone take a human dump in my birdbath outside,? Anthony said, listing other attacks on his home. ?I put out a gay pride flag right after the march in Nashville which I was in. That lasted about two weeks and it was cut in half. It?s one thing after another, but this is my home, this is where I?m from.?
If Anthony is correct and the offenders are under 18, they will face charges in juvenile court. However, if adults are arrested in the case, they could also face federal charges which provide stiff penalties for those involved in hate crimes.