LOS ANGELES: IMPULSE GROUP, a global organization with over 500 volunteers on five continents whose purpose is to engage, support and connect gay men globally, expressed its disappointment at the 30-year sentence handed down to Ed Buck, the former prominent West Hollywood Democratic political donor and activist, arguing Buck should have received a life sentence for the horrific drug and sex crimes perpetrated on vulnerable men of color, two of whom died in his apartment. Impulse also expressed its deep condolences to the families of all of Buck’s victims.
“Like many other gay Angelinos, I feel elated to finally see some justice for Ed Buck! He was sentenced to 30 years in prison for fatally drugging two men. Ed Buck, once a high profile Democratic political donor and activist, lured men to parties in his apartment and drugged them with methamphetamines. It’s an important case that needs to bring awareness to the issue of predators like Buck who prey on vulnerable victims -Black men struggling with addiction and homelessness. Gay Black men who are drug-dependent and homeless are most at risk. The fact that he was free after having two men die in his West Hollywood apartment shows how much work we still must do. He was not arrested or charged until September 2019, a week after a third man overdose at his apartment. Would this have taken that long if the men had been white?” said Jose Ramos, Founder of Impulse Group.
Ramos continued, “I live on the same street where Ed Buck’s apartment is located. As this case evolved, I remember walking by the front of his building and seeing all candles and flowers for weeks. I will gaze at his apartment and wonder how many gay men he drugged, raped and abused. His victims were often Black men and according to the U.S. Attorney’s office, he would inject them at his apartment with syringes full of meth, sometimes while they were unconscious. At the sentencing hearing, Buck told Judge Snyder that he was not the “meth-fueled ax killer” and that he cared and loved them. This man is mentally sick and needs to be and stay in prison!”
“30 years is not enough. Given Ed Buck’s professional and political contributions, it feels like the prison sentence was softened by privilege. He represents a larger, deeply rooted, ideology that continues to objectify and fetishize men of color. Sadly, it took two people losing their lives, multiple grass-root interventions and community galvanization to facilitate accountability. It’s not enough, his wallet needs to be obligated. We must take a collective stance against predatory behavior and the substance-use social norms that perpetuate it,” said Rigness Rush, Global Director of Marketing of Impulse Group.
“My yearning is that we do not forget the deaths of Gemmel Moore and Timothy Dean … that as gay men, as a queer community and as a country we keep fighting against predators and the exploitation and killings of vulnerable gay men. That we become more empathetic to those who are struggling with addiction and that instead of taking advantage of one another, we lend a hand and support each other,” concluded Ramos.
Impulse Group, an affinity group of AHF, is a global organization whose mission is to engage, support and connect gay men globally. Using social events and innovative marketing campaigns, Impulse tackles topics such as HIV/AIDS, sexual health, stigma, substance use, suicide, depression and inequities within our community.
