Student Allegedly Punched in the Face for Prop. 8 Column

Destinie Mogg-Barkalow, a student at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts, penned a column about her opposition to Proposition 8 earlier this week, and in the piece she said those opposed to same-sex marriage need to catch up with the times. Now The Advocate's Lucas Grindley reports that the columnist claims she was confronted in a parking lot and punched in the face for her writing.

"If you believe legalizing gay marriage is unconstitutional, I think it is time you moved to another country," wrote Mogg-Barkalow, who is a lesbian, in The Comment student paper on Wednesday. "When it comes down to it, all I can say is leave us alone. Why are people so concerned about my soul and not their own? If same-sex couples are going to hell, at least I would be in peace and could finally stop worrying about hypocritical judgment."

Mogg-Barkalow says she was confronted the next day in parking lot by a tall man and a shorter red-headed woman, and while she is openly gay she told The Boston Globe she did "not believe her alleged assailant was aware of her sexual orientation." However, when the couple asked if she'd written the column and Mogg-Barkalow confirmed, the woman punched her in the face.

Students are planning a rally in support of the writer on campus on Tuesday. In the meantime, police are having Mogg-Barkalow review students photos and released these composite sketches in hopes of catching the offenders. The Comment described the two suspects as "a white female with pale skin, 18-22 years of age, about 5'2" red (almost maroon) dyed hair in ringlet curls, past shoulder length, with a large square-shaped nose stud in her right nostril and a white male 18-22 years of age about 6'1" with a thin build and short, dark hair."

Police are investigating the situation as a possible hate crime.