E. Gasior write up, Anon 1

Eric Gasior is a longtime member of the convention community in the Baltimore area, and for most of that time he has been Baltimore fandom's missing stair. If you bring up his behavior, everyone seems to be aware of it, but no one does anything about it.

Mr. Gasior has demonstrated obsessive tendencies with multiple women, including stalking, manipulation, and lies. I made the mistake of engaging in consensual sex with him a couple of times, and this led to a months-long obsession. Although I told him repeatedly we were not in a relationship, and he promised he understood, his actions were those of a jealous, possessive lover. He coerced me into sex after I told him I didn't want to have that kind of relationship anymore; he threw temper tantrums at public events if I refused to talk to him; and he brought me gifts at public conventions after I had already cut off all contact, trying to repair a relationship that never existed. He told others my partner had "stolen" me from him, as though I had no agency to decide relationships on my own - and all this while claiming to support me after I was sexually assaulted by someone else.

Many people in the Baltimore convention community were unaware of this situation for several years, as I fell prey to societal messages about protecting men. Upon learning that Mr. Gasior would be the convention chair of Balticon in 2021, though, I felt I must take action. This is a man who coerces women into sex: he should not be in a position of power. After discussing the matter with others who have had similar experiences with him, I found the strength to speak up about what happened. I submitted a consent violation report to the Baltimore Science Fiction Society (BSFS) in fall 2020, and received no further communication except when I emailed asking for a status update.

After several months, I decided enough was enough, and I posted to my own social media about the BSFS board failing to act. This was picked up by convention-related pages, prompting BSFS to release a prepared statement. Unfortunately, this statement does nothing to address the multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. It is entirely about other matters, and the consent violation reports were dismissed as "other complaints" not related to Balticon or BSFS.

I have since learned that my consent violation report was dismissed outright by the BSFS board, because the events I described did not take place at Balticon or BSFS. This directly contradicts the BSFS Code of Conduct, which states that outside occurrences will be considered. BSFS rejected my report of sexual misconduct with no notice to me, however there were also three other reports at the same time as mine. That is a total of four consent violation reports - and BSFS still felt he had not violated their code of conduct. Supposedly, some board members felt he was being "railroaded" - because how else could four reports have come in at the same time, unless there was a conspiracy, people out to get him? (The #MeToo movement has apparently bypassed the BSFS board, or they would understand that people hide consent violations until they finally hear from others and develop courage together to speak up.)

As of this writing, Mr. Gasior is still the con chair for Balticon in 2021. While some may say a virtual event is safer, because he cannot coerce anyone into sex or throw tantrums in public, I maintain that keeping him in a position of power reflects badly on Balticon and BSFS. Removing him now would keep the community safer in the future, by acknowledging that his behavior is not tolerated in our community.