Sad lesson from Versace murder

By Gloria Lawrenson

Gianni Versace's murder on the front steps of his Miami Beach mansion shook the very foundation of the fashion world. As with an earthquake, powerful after-shocks followed as it was revealed that this slaying was only one of many committed by a mad man on a campaign of terror -- a campaign which authorities now believe began when Cunanan discovered he had AIDS and which may only end after he has destroyed all of his real or imagined foes.

Sadly, Cunanan is only one of many. There are thousands like him in the homosexual community -- a community where, contrary to what we are commonly led to believe -- violence and murder are the order of the day. This is not to suggest that Versace deserved to be brutally gunned down after returning home from getting a newspaper one sunny morning. But it's important to highlight the fact that while murder in general is on the rise, it is increasing disproportionately within the homosexual community.

This truth is born out by several comprehensive studies. One of them -- a 12-year investigation conducted by two American psychologists (Playfair and Wellum) was presented at the Eastern Psychological Association Convention in 1993. The study compared 6,516 obituaries from 16 U.S. homosexual journals with a large number of obituaries from regular newspapers and found that homosexuals are 116 times more likely to be murdered than heterosexual men.

The study also concluded that while a full 80 per cent of married men live to be at least 65, with the average age of death being 75, the average age of death for homosexuals is 26 years younger at 39 -- and only two per cent survive to see the age of 65. Lastly, homosexuals are 24 times more likely to commit suicide than heterosexual men.