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A coalition of gay and lesbian rights groups will hold a press conference
to announce the filing of a lawsuit against four young men who allegedly
beat a gay teenager unconscious in the small, rural town of Rifle, Colorado
in February, 2001.
The press conference will take place on Thursday, February 7 at 11:00
a.m. at the main entrance to the Federal Courthouse at 1929 Stout St. in
Denver.
The victim of the attack is Kyle Skyock, a diminutive teen who
lives in Rifle, a town located on Interstate 70 between Glenwood Springs
and Grand Junction.
Kyle alleges that another local boy invited him "to party"
on a Saturday night last February. Later that evening, the boy and three
other local teens reportedly took Kyle to a dark roadside spot and beat
him unconscious.
Skyock lay unconscious by the side of the road for more than seven hours
in subfreezing temperatures before a passerby found him. He remained comatose
for three days.
"This lawsuit is about seeking justice for Kyle and his mother,"
says Michael Brewer, legal director of the Colorado Legal Initiatives
Project, a gay and lesbian legal advocacy group assisting in the filing
of the suit.
Kyle, his attorneys, and representatives from the following organizations
will offer remarks and be available to answer questions regarding the lawsuit.
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Western Equality: a Grand
Junction-based advocacy organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgender residents of Colorado's Western Slope.
The Human Rights Campaign:
the nation's largest gay and lesbian organization, based in Washington,
D.C., which works to advance equality based on sexual orientation and
gender expression.
The Colorado Anti-Violence Program:
a Denver-based statewide victim services and advocacy group dedicated
to eliminating violence within and against the lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender community.
The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender
Community Center of Colorado: the parent organization
of the Colorado Legal Initiatives Project,
the Denver-based Center offers programs to support the well being and
health of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people throughout the
state.
Equal Rights Colorado:
a legislative advocacy organization working to promote bills in the
Colorado General Assembly which advance the legal rights of gay, lesbian,
bisexual and transgender people.
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