NEBRASKA: Man Arrested After Stealing And Burning Neighbors' Rainbow Flag

Gay Star News reports:

A 23-year-old man is behind bars after allegedly burning down a rainbow flag in Omaha, Nebraska. Cameron Mayfield, 23, stole a rainbow flag from his neighbors, set it on fire, and ran through the neighborhood, according to police. It comes as Nebraska has lifted the ban on same-sex couples from becoming foster parents last week. Ariann Anderson and Jess Meadows-Anderson, a married couple who live next door, said it went "beyond vandalism or a threat" as it was a "direct attack." "It's just a reminder that hate is still out there," they said. The two women woke up just after midnight on Sunday morning (1 March), believing their home was being burglarized.

(Via Askarbent)

NEBRASKA: Gay-Bashing Of Straight Marine Investigated As Hate Crime

The attack on the straight Marine who was gay-bashed in Omaha after standing up for a friend in drag will be investigated as a hate crime.

Omaha Police said Thursday officers are investigating this incident as a hate crime. Gay rights activists in Omaha want people to know there's nothing scary about a man in a dress. They will be hosting a rally Saturday to take a stand against hate crimes and homophobia. The rally was organized in response to an assault that happened early Sunday in the Old Market. Ryan Langenegger of Omaha, a 22-year-old straight man and Marine, said he was punched in the face after he peacefully defended his two gay friends.

More about Saturday's rally:

The gay community considers Langenegger’s actions heroic, and is hosting a “Drag Out Hate!” rally in his honor on Saturday. “I wanted to show in broad daylight that there is nothing to fear about gay people and there is nothing disgusting about drag,” said Chad Bugge, one of the organizers of the rally. “Drag is fun and it has been the source of entertainment for the gay community for years.” Mayor Jean Stothert said in a statement that she’s been assured the Omaha Police Department is treating the incident with the seriousness it deserves.

(Tipped by JMG reader Paul)

NEBRASKA: Straight Man Gay-Bashed After Standing Up For Friend In Drag

An Omaha straight man told local news that he was attacked outside a restaurant after standing up to three men that were harassing a friend of his who was in drag. The assailants escaped but surveillance video and credit card records might identify them.

Ryan Langenegger said he and his two friends, Josh Foo and Jacob Gellinger, were eating at the Pepperjax Grill in the Old Market around 2 a.m. when the harassment began. Jacob was dressed in drag. "We were eating and there was three guys watching us and one of them stepped up and was a foot or two away from my friend {Gellinger} and he just kept saying, 'Should I? Should I?'" Langenegger explained. Gellinger said eventually he told the men, "I know I'm a boy in a dress."  Langenegger said the men then told Gellinger, "Yeah, you're disgusting and more colorful language and insisted on using more derogatory toward my two friends." That's when the three friends decided to leave the restaurant. But according to Langenegger, the men followed them outside and eventually cut them off, preventing them from getting to their car and leaving.

Langenegger: "I see this happen all the time with my friends and it’s really sickening. It's 2013, we live in Omaha, a lot of people don’t realize that this stuff is going on and it's just not right. And I'm just not going to stand by and watch my friends and pretty much family get degraded. It's just not right." WOWT-TV has a video interview at the link. (Tipped by JMG reader Str8 Grandmother and Arksarbent.)

NEBRASKA: Christianists Fail To Repeal Omaha's LGBT Anti-Discrimination Law

In March of last year, the Omaha City Council narrowly approved a bill granting employment protections to LGBT residents of the city.  Anti-gay Christianist groups immediately launched a campaign to repeal the bill.  Supporting the repeal attempt was Omaha Archbishop George Lucas, who issued a letter demanding that local Catholics sign the repeal petition.

Yesterday the backers of the petition conceded failure.

The Omaha Liberty Project, sponsor of the petition effort, needed to submit roughly 11,400 valid resident signatures to the city today to potentially force a vote in May's general election. The group's volunteer petition circulators led months of signature gathering and community-organizing efforts, its leader said, but didn't collect enough signatures to account for potentially ineligible entries. The group has already missed a deadline to place the issue on the primary ballot. “We've got to be pretty darn close to the number we need,” said Patrick Bonnett, the group's executive director and a member of the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District board. Bonnett said the Liberty Project's campaign got a late start and had to spend much of the holidays bringing voters up to speed on the ordinance. “We were very, very shocked at how few people were in tune with the issue,” he said.