Leaving one victim with a fractured skull, another with stab wounds, last year’s string of hate crimes against six gay men outside the San Diego Pride festival shocked and enraged San Diegans, gay and straight alike.

“I have a few choice words for the criminals who committed this vicious attack, and for any others who are contemplating perpetuating such a crime: You are cowards,” said Mayor Jerry Sanders in a press conference addressing the city following the attacks. “Make no mistake about it; if you commit such a crime, we will do everything within our power to catch you.”

On stage with Sanders were San Diego’s top officials, including Police Chief William Lansdowne, City Attorney Mike Aguirre and openly gay Councilmember Toni Atkins – an unprecedented response by the city to violence against the GLBT community.

The subsequent investigation and speedy arrests and convictions that followed sent a clear message to anyone who planned to commit an act of violence against members of our community: “not in our city.”

Proud of law enforcement’s role in capturing the perpetrators, San Diego Pride is honoring the San Diego Police Department this year with its Stonewall Service Award, a nod to a gay or non-gay organization that has supported the GLBT community over an extended period of time.

As tragic as last year’s attacks were, the unified response was proof of the decades of activism leading up to this truly significant moment in San Diego history. It was as if the efforts of those first Pride marchers, many of whom wore paper sacks over their heads in fear of reprisal, were paid in dividends.

Having an openly gay councilmember, who enjoyed a stint as San Diego’s acting mayor in 2005, standing before the city alongside powerful straight allies, is by no means an accident. Hundreds of thousands of dollars and years of political activism have gone into electing representatives from the gay community, and not just for City Council. San Diego has several openly gay people in top city positions, including District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, Fire Chief Tracy Jarman, Superior Court Judges Ted Weathers and David Rubin, and senior staffers Fred Sainz, Jeff Gattas and George Biagi, not to mention a slew of city commissioners and others in ancillary positions.

With such relative acceptance and representation, however, we have grown apathetic. The heroes of our movement, some of whom are profiled in this week’s feature honoring the San Diego Pride awardees, have seen this community through times unimaginable to younger generations – generations that benefit from their years of defiance, struggle and progress. This Pride, we call on all members of the community to unite and join in our fight for equality. Imagine what we could achieve if civil rights, once again, became our priority; if the wealth of this entire community, not just the few hundred politically active, was funneled into the political process.

In light of last year’s violent attacks and in the theme of this year’s Pride, let’s make a promise to “Unite for Equality!”

If you would like to respond to this week’s editorial, e-mail us at editor@uptownpub.com or send letters to P.O. Box 34624, San Diego, CA 92163. Please include your full name, address and phone number for verification purposes. Only your name will be published. Letters must be 500 words or less.

The Gay & Lesbian Times publishes all letters to the editor unedited. Letters received that do not contain subject matter in reference to the publication will be published at the discretion of the Gay & Lesbian Times. In the event that we receive more letters than space allows, all overflow will be posted on our Web site, www.gaylesbiantimes.com.