Gay Virginia Teen Hospitalized for 9 Days Charged with Assualt After Suffering Anti-Gay Beating

If one wants to realize just how bigoted and f*cked up things are in Virginia look no farther than the case of 14-year old Eric Martin who was bullied and beaten by at least four Highland Springs High School classmates in Henrico County, Virginia.  The beating put Martin in the hospital for 9 days.  But who gets charged for assault and persecuted by the high school?  Not those who beat him but Martin.  It is this type of mindset in Virginia that allows anti-gay bullies to go unpunished and leads to suicides such as that of Christian Taylor of nearby Yorktown, Virginia.  School administrators give lip service to "protecting all students" but what that equates to is protecting anti-gay bullies from accountability and the consequences of their violence towards LGBT students.  Here are highlights from the New Civil Rights Movement:

Early last month 14-year old Eric Martin (photo, above) was bullied and beaten by at least four Highland Springs High School classmates in Henrico, Virginia. 

Now, police are charging Eric with two counts of assault because he supposedly threw the first punch. School officials refuse to allow him back into school until he signs a statement saying he threatened the school -- a charge he denies, and a charge for which the school has no proof.

Eric was hospitalized for nine days because of the brutal beating. Early reports stated "Eric's arm is possibly broken. He is suffering from a concussion, and doctors have placed him on brain rest." He was also reportedly "on suicide watch."

"When I try to call the school, and I try to get answers they just blow me off," Mary Martin, Eric's mother, told WWBT. "They don't want to talk to me." She says Eric has been called "gay" and a "faggot."

"Bullying is real," cried Martin. "And bullying can take your children away from here if you don't pay close attention."

Mary Martin "admits Eric threw the first punch, but she says he was a victim of bullying. She says he was constantly hit with gay slurs," NBC 12 reports.  "I'm angry, and I'm hurt," Mary Martin also said. "He's got bruises all down the spine of his back where he was just slammed on that table."

The Virginia Anti-Violence Project issued a statement that "condemns the brutal assault on Eric Martin."

Eric's family has started a campaign, Letters for Eric, to show the bullied teen support. The address is: Letters for Eric, P.O.Box 993, Sandston, Va. 23150.

Stories like this sicken me and are a reminder that no LGBT individual is truly safe in Virginia.  Meanwhile, Victoria Cobb and the other hate merchants at The Family Foundation are likely celebrating that a gay teen "got what he deserved."  As for the school officials, they need to be fired and have their teaching certificates revoked by the State Board of Education.  Until administrators are held accountable, expect to see more stories such as this one coming out of Virginia.  If you find this situation disgusting, contact the high school and voice your disgust: Highland Springs High, 15 S. Oak Avenue, Highland Springs, 23075 (804) 328-4000.  Also consider contacting the Richmond tourism office - which has been trying to attract the LGBT tourist market -  and tell them that because of this incident, you won't be visiting Richmond anytime soon.  Here's the number: (800) 370-9004.