Amid Banner Years For Civil Rights, Gay Bias Killings Soar

By: Ryan Smith
Topics: Daily Blotter

5041015NEW YORK (CBS/AP) The last few years have seen an expansion of gay rights in America. Same-sex marriage is legal in three states and, barring legal obstacles, will be legal in at least three more by 2010.

But last year was also a tragic one for gays and transgendered people. The number of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people killed in bias-motivated incidents increased by 28 percent in 2008 compared to the previous year, according to a national coalition of advocacy groups.

Last year's 29 killings was the highest recorded by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs since 1999, when it documented the same number of slayings, according to a report released Tuesday by the coalition.

"What we're also seeing, more disturbingly, is the increase in the severity of violence," said Sharon Stapel, executive director of the New York City Anti-Violence Project, which coordinates the coalition.

Stapel theorized that at least some of last year's violence was backlash against issues that arose during the presidential campaign. She cited debates about same-sex marriage, the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy and federal legislation that would ban employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity as possible flash points.

"The more visibility there is the more likely we're going to see backlash, and that's exactly what we see here," Stapel said.

Overall, the number of victims who reported anti-LGBT violence in 2008 increased by two percent compared to 2007, said the New York-based coalition of programs in 25 states.

(AP)

Coalition officials say their figures are more accurate than those from law enforcement agencies. As an example, they say, the FBI doesn't record bias crimes against transgender people because gender identity isn't covered by federal hate-crime law.

Also, victims sometimes are reluctant to report bias incidents to police because they don't want to reveal their sexual orientation or gender identity and/or they fear bias from police, officials said.

Reports of physical abuse by police increased to 25 incidents last year from 10 in 2007, the report said.

Officials weren't sure whether reported increases were attributable to more people reporting incidents or an actual rise.

Meighan Bentz, a victim outreach advocate at the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center, which includes an anti-violence project, said, "I think it's a combination."

On Tuesday, Attorney General Eric Holder said there is a need for tougher U.S. hate crimes law to stop "violence masquerading as political activism."

(MySpace Photo)

Photo of Gwen Araujo taken from a MySpace tribute page. Araujo, a 17-year-old transgender woman from Newark, CA, was murdered by two East Bay men.

"Over the last several weeks, we have witnessed brazen acts of violence, committed in places that many would have considered unthinkable," Holder told the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs.

He cited separate attacks over a two-week period that killed a young soldier, an abortion provider and a guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

The violence, he said, "reminds us of the potential threat posed by violent extremists and the tragedy that ensues when reasoned discourse is replaced by armed confrontation."

In order to stop that violence, he said, Congress should pass an updated version of hate crimes legislation, to more effectively prosecute those who commit violent attacks based on gender, disability, or sexual orientation.

"We will not tolerate murder, or the threat of violence, masquerading as political activism," Holder said.

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by averjane June 18, 2009 7:11 AM EDT: This information comes from advocacy groups and promoted by the liberal media. That's two reasons not to believe everything you read about these special interest groups. The media constantly bombardes our brains with their biased reporting so you really have to do your research to realize that most of what they say is either exaggerated or an out right lie. People who rely on the media to bring them accurate and up to date news should not allow themselves to be indoctrinated in this way. They need to think for themselves and do their own homework.; Reply to this comment


by ballanross June 17, 2009 9:15 PM EDT: Like most stupid people who think 29 murders are not enough, glancing attention to this article doesn't tell you that most bias-related crimes, whether they are called that or not, are not reported and no one dies. A person have to actually read the entire article and perhaps do some of their own research to discover that though.

Gay people don't win points for "grabbing headlines" or need "more attention" or "higher numbers" in order to be added to the existing anti-bias crime laws which protect choice of religion or one's race, for example. Unless they are attacked, the passage of bias crime laws does nothing for gay people. Nothing.

These crimes are most often not reported, because of jerks who whine about feeling less than gays if the suspect class laws in existence were to be applied to this group of people, whom everyone knows is victimized for what they are, not for what they do.

As the article and the report it refers to state clearly, the police in most places do not keep records on anti-gay bias-related crimes, though they are supposed to. Most bias crimes are not murders.

It really is a shame that in 2009 there are people who are so stupid that they need to take time out of their lives to insult 29 dead Queers as unimportant and not enough.

These are not "alleged" murders based on anti-GLBT bias, these are 29 confirmed anti-gay bias-related murders. Quit trying to minimize them. The ones that are not proven to be based on that, plus any such murders which are in states where the bias crimes laws don't include gays, are not counted as anti-gay bias crime murders, though they may be.

How many dead homosexuals would be enough to please you heartless bastards?; Reply to this comment


by 6591Hou June 17, 2009 4:09 PM EDT: "Overall, the number of victims who reported anti-LGBT violence in 2008 increased by two percent compared to 2007, said the New York-based coalition of programs in 25 states. Coalition officials say their figures are more accurate than those from law enforcement agencies."
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Of course their figures are 'more accurate' (otherwise known as 'higher'), they need higher numbers to get more attention. 29 alleged bias-motivated killings nationwide, while tragic, is an extremely small percentage to grab headlines with.; Reply to this comment