Straight man attacked after defending gay people

Straight ally, Drew Bartscher, was out at a Souix Falls, South Dakota bar when he overheard a woman complaining to her boyfriend using a harmful gay slur. “I hear a woman regard — make a comment to her boyfriend. Uh, along the lines of, ‘These f*cking f*ggots.’ Referring to homosexuals.” said Bartscher.

He asked the woman to refrain from disparaging language and was accosted by the woman’s boyfriend. “Then I hear this guy yell at me, ‘What the f*ck did you say to my girlfriend?!?!’ I turned just a little bit and then the next thing I know, my friends are picking me up off the sidewalk, (because) I had gotten punched pretty good,” Bartscher reported to KELO-TV.

Via KELO-TV:

“I’ve got a little bit of a headache, but mostly from the incident my teeth hurt,” Bartscher said.

Though he says he’s a bit embarrassed about his shiner, he’s not ashamed of what he did to get it. Bartscher posted the photos of his injuries almost immediately afterward. A caption that reads, “Stand up for what you believe in. Love everyone.” Bartscher, who is straight, said he was not standing up for himself.

“That makes me think about my friends and my family and if that was said to them, like, just how hurtful words can be,” Bartscher said.

Bartscher talked to officers shortly after. Police received two assault reports from this same early morning, and confirm one of them matches Bartscher’s story. The couple he mentions got away before they could be questioned. Violence against the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community is still a major issue all over the nation, and the world. There are resources, including The Center For Equality in Sioux Falls.

Bartscher credits his parents with giving him the values to find the courage to stand up for the gay community. He wants to pass these traits his two little girls. He hopes his ordeal encourages others to just be kind to one another. Bartscher’s face will heal in time, but he believes words can hurt for a lot longer.