On 9 June 2011, All Souls hosted a public meeting organized by P.A.C.E (People Acting for Change and Equality) and the Forum for Equality on hate crime laws.
The Shreveport Times press coverage for this public meeting can be found here:
Additional coverage about this story on the Unitarian Universalist Association’s web site can be found here:
Zoning board denies plan for ramp, and other UUs in the media
This meeting was held in response to the 26 January 2011 attack on John Skaggs at the Sand Bar in downtown Shreveport. Police and witnesses said William Payne attacked Mr. Skaggs with the blunt end of a pool cue, causing serious facial injury to his eye socket and jawbone area and rendering him unconscious. Mr. Payne was charged with attempted second-degree murder and committing a hate crime (Mr. Payne was making physically threatening statements regarding attacking the victim based on his sexual orientation). Mr. Skaggs suffered at least 14 facial fractures and had metal plates mounted in his face.
