Gay Vet Harassed by Homophobic Neighbors Receives Pride Present

After military vet Ryan Gierach went public about harassment he was receiving from his Los Angeles neighbors -- which include homophobic epithets, spitting, and a flier calling him a pedophile -- a Pride event honored his contributions.

Members of the community, including City Councilman Joe Buscaino and L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn, attended a Pride flag-raising event on Saturday at Welcome Park in the San Pedro neighborhood. Gierach was in attendance and received words of encouragement from the officials.

"There is no room for this type of behavior in a community that has always practiced and believes in human decency toward one another," Buscaino said, according to The Daily Breeze. "We live in one of the most diverse cities in the world and must live with respect toward each other."

Gierach, a former publisher of the publication WeHo News, says his neighbors hurled antigay slurs at him after he moved to San Pedro two years ago. Recently, he said, after he hung up a rainbow flag in honor of Pride Month, his neighbors made more antigay comments toward him and assaulted him. He captured a video of two women and a child mocking him, and one women spitting at him. A few months ago, someone posted fliers around the neighborhood that accused Gierach of pedophilia and listed his home address.