Lee County: Hate crime allegations

Allegations of a hate crime in Lee County are stirring questions about an Alabama law that reads like hate crime legislation.

That law targets crimes motivated by a victim's race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, or physical or mental ability (Alabama Criminal Code Title 13A-5-13). Despite a federal amendment by President Barack Obama, Alabama's law does not include sexual orientation.

Nonetheless, Sheriff Jay Jones says his deputies are trained to report hate bias anyway, but that is not what happened Saturday night after a gay woman was beaten outside The Villa off Highway 169 in Opelika, according to police reports.

That woman is 25-year-old Laura Gilbert who had never been to the bar before. Gilbert says she said aloud before heading there for a friend's birthday, "I don't think they like my kind there."

Gilbert and her friend from high school, Sheila Siddall, say they went there to sing karoake.  

"As soon as we walked in the bar, I felt uncomfortable," Gilbert said. "I felt everybody staring at us, but you know, it was her birthday, I didn't want to ruin it for her."

Gilbert and Siddall say as they were about to leave, a woman confronted them and started to fight with them. The fight grew to include about a dozen people, including two men, and moved outside, according to the women.

Siddall called 911. A Lee County deputy arrived, but the fight was then over.

"They didn’t take our side of the story," Gilbert said. "They took their side of the story, and then all of a sudden, they come up behind me and tell me to put my hands behind my back, that I’m going to jail."

Gilbert was the only person arrested that night for disorderly conduct and public intoxication, but witnesses say many people were intoxicated.

"The arrest that took place was a result of a law enforcement officer actively and presently observing what he at that moment in time perceived to be a violation of the law," said Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones.

He points out that law enforcement must witness a misdemeanor in order to make an arrest for it.

Jones says the women themselves were the only ones reported to be injured, but they were not interviewed because they were too intoxicated. As for the other people involved who were intoxicated, yet interviewed by law enforcement, Jones said the responding deputies did the best they could.

Both women refused treatment the night of the incident, but later got checked out at East Alabama Medical Center.

They have since filed a separate report for their assault. Jones says his department is investigating their injuries, which could lead to the arrest of the true perpetrators.

But Gilbert says no law enforcement officer has tried to get her side of the story.

"I'm an American just like the rest of us are," Gilbert said. "I have rights. I have the same rights as y'all do, supposedly, but people from here don't look at it that way."

The manager of The Villa says she did not witness the fight, but maintains her regular customers come from all walks of life.

The FBI keeps statistical data of hate crimes by state. Alabama had nine reported incidents in 2009. A state similar in population to Alabama like Connecticut had 200 incidents; however, Connecticut hate crime law includes sexual orientation as a motivation.