KEVIN B. KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat Tucsonan Jami McDowell shows her support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender community during a candlelight vigil last night outside IBT's on North Fourth Avenue. The vigil was held to show support for Mark Fontes, who has been in a coma since he was found unconscious and bleeding early Tuesday morning outside of the bar.

Jonna Lopez frequently hears verbal assaults from passing drivers as she leaves IBT's, a gay bar on North Fourth Avenue.

Lopez, the director of the UA Pride Alliance, said harassment in front of the bar has been a problem not only for her, but for others as well.

Mark Fontes, 21, was found unconscious and bleeding behind IBT's at 12:45 a.m. Tuesday. He had left the bar at midnight.

Although it is unknown whether Fontes was the victim of a hate crime, members of the LGBT community said they have been victims of hate crimes in the past.

A sea of twinkling candles filled the sidewalk in front of IBT's last night during a candlelight vigil dedicated to Fontes, who remains hospitalized in critical condition.

A crowd of about 250 gathered to show support for Fontes, an openly gay 21-year-old Tucsonan.

Detective Tim Rupel, a Tucson Police hate crime investigator, is still investigating what happened to Fontes.

"Mark's case is my number-one priority," Rupel said. He has no suspects.

The owner of IBT's, David Huff, said since the bar's clientele is primarily homosexual, it is often a target for harassment.

Realizing there can be problems, Huff has been proactive in ensuring the safety of IBT's clients. He, along with other North Fourth Avenue bar owners, has regular meetings with representatives from the Tucson Police Department. He has also been pushing for more lighting on side streets.

Carla Johnson, captain of TPD's Downtown Division, said she is aware of the harassment in front of IBT's.

Although TPD has taken several measures to make Fourth Avenue as safe as possible, many of the incidents in front of IBT's go unreported.

According to Rupel, only one in eight hate crimes is reported.

"The LGBT community is a little more reluctant to report harassment," Johnson said, adding that she rarely gets any reports of harassment from IBT's.

Recognizing this as a problem, Johnson said TPD is now working with Wingspan, a center for the LGBT community, to encourage people to report incidents.

Alex Jacinto, a planning graduate student, said he was assaulted in front of IBT's in November.

Jacinto said he was leaving the bar with two friends when a van pulled up and someone asked him to come over to the van to say "hi" to a "friend." Jacinto was wary, and then another man came out of the van and began yelling, cursing at him and calling him a "fucking faggot."

They continued to threaten him, and then said they had a gun and would shoot him, Jacinto said.

"As soon as I heard the word 'gun,' we took off," he said.

Jacinto also recalled incidents where fruit and bottles were thrown at them while standing in front of IBT's.

"You have to let things roll off your back," said Jacinto, adding that despite all this, he still feels safe at IBT's.

Other students expressed similar feelings.

Kat Gonzales, a library sciences graduate student, said she has also witnessed verbal harassment while in front of IBT's.

"It was the typical, 'Hey, fag!'" she said. Regardless, she has "never felt uncomfortable."

Liesl Richter, a theatre arts junior, works next to IBT's at Rainbow Planet. Richter often goes to IBT's after work to hang out.

"I feel more safe there than at straight bars," she said. "It's more peaceful and more community-like."

But Lopez said there have been incidents in which people go into a gay bar pretending to be gay, pick someone up, leaves with him and then beats him.

"These incidents are overwhelmingly happening to men," she said. "It's really, really scary."

But Lopez said she still goes to the bars at night.

"It doesn't do any good to live in fear," she said.

Pride Alliance suggests that students use common sense when they go out, emphasizing that people should not leave a bar with someone they do not know.

Kent Burbank from Wingspan said people need to be careful when they go out at night.

Burbank also said that he has heard of gays getting picked up at bars and then getting beat up.

Police are unsure if this is what happened to Fontes.

Fontes' mother and two brothers said they are happy that there is so much support from the Tucson community.

"I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart," Fontes' mother, Barbara Fautrelle, told those who attended last night's vigil.

Richard El’as, a member of the Pima County Board of Supervisors, addressed the crowd, reminding them of the upcoming holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr. He said people must take care of the community and fight back "with peace and love."

IBT's is working with Wingspan to collect money to pay for Fontes' medical bills since he does not have insurance.

Wingspan has also launched an anti-violence program in an effort to encourage more people to report hate crimes. They operate a 24-hour crisis line that can be reached by calling 624-0348.

Anyone who might have any information regarding what happened is encouraged to call Tucson Police at 88-CRIME.