NEW YORK CITY: Gay Bashing Suspect Denies Hate Crime - "I'm Gay Myself"

Last night the NYPD made an arrest in last week's gay bashing of Damian Furtch, who was treated for facial injuries after being attacked outside a West Village McDonald's. The suspect has admitted to the assault, but says he shouldn't be charged with a hate crime because he's gay himself.

Cops busted a 21-year-old homeless man Friday night in connection with the vicious beatdown of a gay man in Greenwich Village. Anthony Bray, collared in Bushwick, Brooklyn, confessed to attacking Damian Furtch outside a McDonald's on W. Third St. - but insisted it wasn't a bias attack because he is also gay. Bray told cops he pummeled Furtch, 26, "because he was disrespectful to him," sources said. Bray, who has prior arrests for marijuana possession, graffitti and robbery, was charged with misdemeanor assault.

Cops say they haven't yet ruled out the hate crime charge. Furtch says the altercation began when his attackers mocked him for his bright pink shirt, which is part of his restaurant uniform.