Dianne Feinstein: “if you were to walk past the driveway at 222 West Micheltorena Street in Santa Barbara, California today you would see a…”

“if you were to walk past the driveway at 222 West Micheltorena Street in Santa Barbara, California today you would see a makeshift memorial of flowers and candles. On a tree nearby, you would also see a note that reads, ``United We Stand. Never be forgotten. Always to be loved. A symbol of silence that needs to be broken.'' That memorial has been erected outside the home of Clinton Scott Risetter, 37, the victim of a hate crime. On February 24, 2002, Clint Risetter awoke in his apartment engulfed in flames and then tried to escape as he was burning. When firefighters arrived, they found him dead on his patio. Two days later, Martin Thomas Hartmann walked into the Santa Barbara Police Department and admitted to entering Clint's apartment, pouring gasoline on him as he slept, and then setting him on fire. Martin Hartmann had known Clint for several months but had learned just recently that Clint was gay. He told police about his hatred toward gays and how he ``. . . decided to put [Clint] out of his misery,'' because he was gay. He believed that he was doing the right thing and that Clint deserved to die.”