Todd said she and other members of Equality Alabama found out about the attack Monday afternoon.
“I do believe that the officials will do whatever is necessary to make sure the brother is brought to justice,” Todd said. “We’re going to make sure he spends some time in jail. Our primary issue is getting the word out that we are engaged with officials and monitoring the situation. If there’s enough evidence for a hate crime that we make sure it’s done properly.”
Alabama has a hate crime law, but sexual orientation and gender identity are not protected categories.
Todd said Owens was being interviewed today by the FBI, who will then determine if the attack would fall under the jurisdiction of federal hate crimes protection.
“At this point, we’re engaged and letting the authorities do their job,” Todd said. “We’re going to be on top of it. It was terrible, especially on Thanksgiving, to have something like this happen.”
No vigils or protests have been planned yet, Todd said, but several petitions and Facebook groups calling attention to the attack have been created. One group, Justice For Mallory Owens, has more than 11,000 supporters.
A spokesperson for the Southern Poverty Law Center, based in Montgomery, Ala., said that the organization was aware of the attack but was withholding comment.
LGBT rights are a key area of interest for the SPLC. Today, the organization filed a consumer fraud lawsuit against an organization that pushed conversion therapy to try to turn gay people straight. The lawsuit against Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing (JONAH) was filed in the Superior Court of New Jersey.
Top photo: Alabama lesbian Mallory Owens after allegedly being beaten on Thanksgiving at her girlfriend’s house (via Facebook)