US LGBT hate crime deaths up 28%
June 16th, 2009
The number of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the USA killed in homophobic or transphobic incidents increased by 28% in 2008 compared to 2007.
The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs recorded 29 LGBT hate crime-related murders in 2008, the highest number in almost a decade.
Gay rights groups are warning that the increase in the number of murders, and the increase in the severity of the violence is directly related to the increased national focus on the issues of same-sex marriage and the military’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy.
“The more visibility there is the more likely we’re going to see backlash, and that’s exactly what we see here,” said Sharon Stapel, executive director of the New York City Anti-Violence Project, which coordinates coalition.
“What we’re also seeing, more disturbingly, is the increase in the severity of violence,” she added.
Coalition officials say their figures are more accurate than those from law enforcement agencies because victims are sometimes reluctant to report incidents to police.
In 2008 there were 25 reported incidents of physical abuse by police officers towards LGBT people.
The Coalition also records a wider range of attacks than the police. The FBI, for example, doesn’t record hate crimes against transgender people because gender identity isn’t covered by federal hate-crime law.
Officials are not sure if the increase in reported hate crime is due to a rise in the number of attacks or a rise in the number of attacks being reported.
Some of the LGBT murders which hit the headlines in 2008:
In December 2008 a man was beaten to death in New York City while he walked arm in arm with his brother as their attackers shouted anti-gay and anti-Latino abuse. Two men were charged with murder as a hate crime.
In February 2008, 15-year-old Lawrence King was shot to death at his school in California after he told classmates he was gay. A classmate has been charged as an adult for the killing.
In June 2008, a surveillance tape was publicized showing Tennessee police officers beating Duanna Johnson, a transgender woman. In November 2008 Johnson was found fatally shot on a Memphis street.
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