A Matter of Hate

A minister, believing he was on a mission from God, identified a local teacher as a homosexual. This “outing” led to the teacher’s murder. The states attorney decided the minister had put the teacher’s life in jeopardy by singling him out for only one reason; the teacher was a homosexual. The states attorney charged the minister with a hate crime reasoning you cannot use the bible to justify homophobic behavior. Like a rock thrown into a pool, many persons in the community are touched by the teacher’s murder, the police investigation, the trial, and the jury proceedings.

A minister, believing he was on a mission from God, identified a local teacher as a homosexual. This “outing” led to the teacher’s murder. The states attorney decided the minister had put the teacher’s life in jeopardy by singling him out for only one reason; the teacher was a homosexual. The states attorney charged the minister with a hate crime reasoning you cannot use the bible to justify homophobic behavior. Like a rock thrown into a pool, many persons in the community are touched by the teacher’s murder, the police investigation, the trial, and the jury proceedings.

Mr. Wellman is a retired high school teacher having taught for thirty-five years in Illinois. He lives with his wife in a suburb northwest of Chicago. Mr. Wellman was probably one of the first high school teachers to invite gays into his psychology and sociology classes to talk about their sexual orientation. For a description of that first event, readers are referred to an article, “High School Days” by Step May, appearing in The Gay Liberation Book, edited by Len Richmond and Gary Noguera.