Gay Homeless Colorado Springs Residents Stabbed, Police Unsure Of Hate Crime Status

Colorado Springs' LGBT issues have seen more than their fare share of news lately. Newly elected Mayor Steve Bach made headlines when he first took office for refusing to endorse the city's gay-pride parade. Bach then caused a ruckus when he declinined to sign a resolution condemning the mid-July beating of five gay men in the city.

Now, The Gazette reports that police are not seeking to pursue hate-crime charges in the stabbing of two gay homeless men. The alleged stabbers, Randy Bishop and Cornelius Bates, were arrested Sunday. Geremiah Vargas and Marshall Hamilton-Parks, the homeless men, told police Bishop and Bates called them 'fag' and 'faggots' prior to stabbing them.

Colorado law currently applies hate-crime status if a crime is committed because of a person's race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, physical/mental disability, or sexual orientation. Senate Bill 11-004, introduced last year, attempted to add 'homeless status' to the list of bias-motivated crimes, though it currently has only progressed as far as the House Judiciary Committee.