Member of men's chorus of Seattle allegedly attacked

By Lornet Turnbull
Seattle Times staff reporter

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The 28-year-old executive director of a Seattle retirement home and a member of the Seattle Men's Chorus said he was in Montreal for the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses festival, when he was jumped and beaten by a group of men as he left a bar shortly after midnight Saturday.

The alleged attack occurred in Montreal's the Village, one of the world's largest gay and lesbian neighborhoods. And it happened in a city renowned for its acceptance of gays, who represent an estimated 15 percent of the city's population of 3 million.

The irony, Conley said, is that "we're here to stand up with music and voice against hatred and discrimination.

"In a way I feel like I'm part of the gay generation that came after all that. I know hate crime is still a problem. I never thought it would happen to me."

Montreal police are still investigating the incident and have not characterized it as a hate crime. Conley was cut and beaten but otherwise not seriously hurt.

Melissa Carroll, police spokeswoman, said, "Unfortunately, assaults do happen around the premises of bars and that can happen anywhere on the island of Montreal."

Maria Lamarca Anderson, a member of the Seattle Women's Chorus, said it's unfortunate such an incident took place in a city so welcoming of gays and lesbians.

Nearly 6,000 delegates in 164 choruses from around the world — including the Seattle women's and men's choruses and the youth chorus, Diverse Harmony — are attending the GALA, which started on Saturday and ends this Saturday. "It's about unifying people," Anderson said of the event.

Conley said he was leaving a bar alone in the Village neighborhood and spotted a group of men along the side of the building. One of the men tripped him and others began kicking him, he said. "I heard the words 'die' and 'faggot.' It was all in English. I don't remember any French accents."

He said they kicked off his glasses and stomped on them. They stepped on his wrist, smashing his watch. "Then someone pulled out a jagged piece of metal — not a knife — and began cutting me. They cut my right pant leg off and began cutting my right arm. I thought I was going to die."
 
Overcome by a surge of adrenaline, Conley said, he managed to kick one of his assailants in the groin and took off running.

Bloodied and half naked with blurry vision and ripped clothing hanging off him, Conley couldn't hail a cab. "No one would stop," he said. "No one would help. That was perhaps the worse part for me," he said. He stumbled 18 blocks to his hotel.

On Sunday, the Seattle Men's Chorus was scheduled to perform the song "Not in our Town" about a hate crime against a Jewish family in Billings, Mont. The chorus dedicated it to Conley.

It concludes: "No hate, no violence, not in our town."

Lornet Turnbull: 206-464-2420