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Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler released a statement yesterday regarding a 33-year-old woman’s report that she was attacked early in the morning Sunday by three masked men who carved anti-gay slurs into her skin, bound her and tried to light her house on fire. She said she was able to escape and crawled, naked, to a neighbor’s for help. 
“Hate crimes are despicable and appalling to me and to all Lincoln residents,” Beutler said in a press statement. “Lincoln strives to be a community that embraces tolerance and equality. We stand united with our gay and lesbian citizens in denouncing violence directed at any group. The City of Lincoln and the Lincoln Police Department will do everything in our power to ensure that justice is done.”
Police have no suspects in the case, which has made national headlines as Lincoln residents prepare to vote on a gay rights ordinance, most likely in November. The City Council approved the ordinance, but it was referred to voters by a petition in which four times the necessary number of signatures were gathered. The proposal would extend civil rights protection on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
