Life In Prison For Gay Bar Shooting

A man upset because his last name made him a target of anti-homosexual jokes was sentenced Monday to four consecutive life terms for opening fire in a gay bar, killing one person and wounding six others.

Circuit Judge Clifford Weckstein said Ronald E. Gay showed a "need for structure and supervision."

Gay, a 55-year-old drifter, had pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and six malicious wounding charges. In court and in interviews with police, the gunman said he was on a mission to kill gay people. Gay also told police he was upset over the slang connotation of his last name.

He had faced up to four life terms plus 60 years in prison for the Sept. 22 shooting, which left 43-year-old Danny Lee Overstreet dead and two others with serious injuries.

According to witnesses, Gay entered the bar, ordered a beer and opened fire when he saw Overstreet and a friend, John Collins, bend to hug each other. He shot both, then turned and opened fire on the others.

The case shocked this blue-collar city of about 95,000 people at the foot of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. It also produced a new openness and support of homosexuality.

The Rev. Catherine Houchins, pastor of the predominantly gay and lesbian Metropolitan Community Church of the Blue Ridge, said she has been swarmed with gay activists who realize they aren't gaining anything by staying quiet.

The city also has seen new gay rights groups emerge, and the homosexual community has held fund-raisers to help pay for the medical bills of the so-called "Roanoke Seven."

"The past year has been an awakening experience for a lot of us," said Misty Overstreet, 18, who founded the group "Out to Change," which is pushing to make Sept. 22 a memorial day for her uncle and other victims of hate crimes.

A prayer vigil in memory of Overstreet, a telephone operator, drew 1,000 people.

By Chris Kahn
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