TotallyOz Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 By Maria Cramer Globe Staff / January 26, 2008 Tall and reed thin, Mark Snyder speaks in a soft, delicate voice and uses mannerisms he describes as effeminate. Snyder said he always felt comfortable being himself and walking hand in hand with his boyfriend around Boston, a city he described as much more tolerant of gays and lesbians than his hometown in rural Pennsylvania. But the stabbing death of his friend, 20-year-old Daniel Yakovleff, a gay hairstylist from Roxbury, has caused Snyder to question how safe he is. Police say Yakovleff's Jan. 17 death is under investigation, and they have released no information about motive or suspects. But his death has sent a chill through the city's gay community. Many gays say that in recent years they have felt more vulnerable to harassment, name calling, and assaults, particularly since the same-sex marriage amendment debate in 2004 that put a spotlight on the community and unleashed anger from gay marriage opponents. "We don't know what caused his death," said Snyder, who is founder of QueerToday, a Boston nonprofit that combats discrimination. "I know that for me and my friends, it was a huge wake-up call that we're a small community and we're brothers and sisters and we need to look out for each other. You never know which one of us may be a victim." The night Yakovleff was killed, he went to the Eagle bar on Tremont Street in the South End, then to a Dorchester apartment, police and friends said. The third-floor flat belonged to Steven Odegard, who had met Yakovleff that night, and later found him dead in his apartment, said Odegard's lawyer, John Swomley. Odegard told police he was asleep and woke to find Yakovleff dead in a back bedroom, police said. For full article: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachus...kes_citys_gays/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
