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Authorities have not yet named a primary suspect in the anti-gay arson that took place on February 8, 2002, in Missoula. The targets of the arson were Carla Grayson, Adrianne Neff and their two-year old son. They escaped out the bedroom window of the house in the middle of the night. The arson happened four days after the couple was listed as plaintiffs in Snetsinger v. State of Montana, a lawsuit accusing the Montana University System of violating the Montana Constitution by not making health insurance and other benefits available to same-sex couples.

Authorities have said the arson is being treated as an attempted triple homicide. Missoula County Attorney Fred Van Valkenburg asked arson investigators to quit talking to the media in early March. He said he didn't want to hurt future prosecution with pre-trial comments. He also said he was worried some of the information being reported was being misinterpreted by the public.

In late April, Chief Counsel for the Montana University System LeRoy Schramm submitted a request to have the Snetsinger case thrown out of court. Schramm contends the court is being asked to do the job of the Montana Legislature, since the University System's policy is based on the state's definition of marriage. Schramm contends that the case boils down to whether or not Montana's definition of marriage is constitutional.

The ACLU, which is representing the plaintiffs, has responded that it is the court's duty to determine what is constitutional. Beth Brennamen, the attorney representing the plaintiffs, told the media, "The judiciary is called upon often to protect people in unpopular positions." She said the Legislature doesn't have the final say in what is or what isn't constitutional.

After the arson, Gov. Judy Martz condemned the act, saying Montanans wouldn't tolerate this type of prejudice and violence against "private property and human life." In mid-April, Network Co-Director Christine Kaufmann met with Martz and asked her to support future legislation to protect gays and lesbians in Montana. Kaufmann explained how hate crimes are meant to threaten an entire group of people, not just the targets. She asked Martz to support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Montana's hate crime and human rights statutes.

Gov. Martz said she would not lend public support to the legislation effort unless such bills passed the Montana Legislature. She also compared hate crimes against gays and lesbians with spiking trees. "I go back to timber people," she said. "When they [conservationists] spike trees, it's to scare the whole industry."