From The Queens Tribune – Thursday October 29, 2009 Issue
To The Editor:
On October 17, hundreds of people gathered in College Point, Queens to share their disgust with the assault of Jack Price, an openly gay College Point resident. I was one of those New Yorkers outraged that another citizen was brutally beaten to near death simply because of his sexual orientation. What was perhaps more outrageous was the disturbing revelation that was made at the rally.
Did you know that the majority of hate crimes are committed by young people under the age of 24? Think about that. Terrifying and true.
As the President of the New York State Young Democrats, an organization that represents this demographic of offenders, I feel that something must be done to address this issue. I call upon my local, state and federal elected officials to increase the amount of money allocated to tolerance and acceptance education. If we are going to reduce the amount of young people who commit hate crimes we must do so by doing a better job at educating our young people in love, tolerance and acceptance.
Let’s honor Jack Price by calling your elected officials and telling them that you demand an increase in funding for tolerance education.
Matthew Silverstein
New York State Young Democrats President & Bay Terrace Resident
