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Unite Against Homophobia

DAVID MORLEY, a gay man, was kicked and beaten to death in the early hours of Sunday morning. A mixed gang of six young people attacked three sets of people during 30 violent minutes. In at least two of the three incidents, the victims were gay. Even the police are saying that they are treating the attacks as homophobic.

Manny Thain

This brutal killing has sent a shock wave through the gay scene in London. It has brought back memories of the nail bomb attack of the Admiral Duncan pub in Soho in April 1999 by the far-right extremist David Copeland. David Morley happened to be the bar manager at the time. Copeland had also bombed Asian and black areas of London.

This attack is not so clearly politically motivated. It does, however, show how deep homophobic prejudice is in Britain. Attacks on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (lgbt) people are on the increase.

A recent government report says that 38% of lgbt people have experienced or witnessed a homophobic attack. There has been a 10% rise in reported attacks in London, and homophobic bullying in schools is a part of everyday life, causing misery for thousands of school children across Britain.

Homophobia, whether politically motivated or present because of ignorance and prejudice, is unacceptable and divisive.

After the Admiral Duncan bombing, lgbt people linked up with black and Asian communities in a united show of defiance against the far-right. It is the responsibility of socialists to campaign for the maximum unity of the working class against the attacks we all face.