Seattle Mayor Ed Murray today issued the following statement after George Zander, a leader in California’s LGBT community and native of Seattle, and his husband Chris were brutally assaulted in a hate crime in Palm Springs Sunday evening:
“Seattle strongly condemns this attack and the discrimination and intolerance that led to it. We have made significant progress as a society in so many ways, celebrating our diversity and committing to inclusion and acceptance.
“In our city and in Washington state, we adopted civil rights protections for the LGBT community. Across the nation, now we all enjoy the right to marry the person we love.
“But we have more work to do to change the hearts of those filled with hate. All of us have the responsibility to represent our commitment to equality in our words and in our actions. And we all must speak out against these crimes wherever they occur.
“Michael and I are close friends of George. As chair of the King County Democrats two decades ago and today as a leader in Equality California, George is a powerful voice for change and fairness. George and Chris will be in our thoughts and prayers during these long weeks ahead as they recover from this senseless act.”