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11.23.2009 11:09am EST
(Washington) Reports of hate crimes against gays increased sharply in 2008, according to new FBI data released Monday.
Overall, the number of reported hate crimes increased about 2 percent. These same figures show a nearly 11 percent increase in hate crimes based on sexual orientation, and a nearly 9 percent increase in hate crimes based on religion.The largest category, racially-motivated hate crimes, fell less than 1 percent.
Among all categories of hate crimes, roughly a third are vandalism or property damage. About 30 percent involve intimidation of some kind, and another 30 percent were physical attacks against people.
The FBI does not compare year-to-year trends in hate crimes, saying the number of agencies reporting changes too much. And in fact, the bureau cautioned that the increase reported Monday might well be due to more agencies tracking such incidents.
In 2008, 2,145 different agencies reported hate crimes incidents, while the year before 2,025 agencies did this reporting.
In total, there were 7,783 hate crimes reported to the FBI last year, and seven murders were categorized as hate crimes.
Half of all hate crimes are motivated by race, according to the FBI. One out of every five is driven by religious bias, and one out of every six is based on sexual orientation bias.
The new statistics come less than a month after President Barack Obama signed a bill expanding those covered by the federal law against hate crimes. Previously, the law had protected those attacked on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin.
The new law signed by Obama now covers crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. It also removes the restriction that federal authorities can launch investigations of victims who were engaged in federally protected activities like voting or free speech.
They’re fighting more because victory is inevitable. Fairness will always win in the end. I just hope we’re all still around to enjoy the sweet taste. : )
Gay bigots? Godly Marriages? How about this…gays will leave your churches alone regardless of the color of your congregations, if you will leave our laws and federal rights unchained by your perverse and restrictive, patriarchal and sexist view of marriage. Gays aren’t fighting for “Godly” marriages – the nation can never GRANT a “godly” marriage. It can only guarantee that all people are created equal and have equal rights – including marriage.
Hate crimes or not, I hope I see the day when gay men and lesbians will in fact rise up and attack those who would foster our inequality and harm like you and your churches. I espouse the violent overthrow of your churches and your systems and your hate filled pulpits until you lay off our community and stop terrorizing us. It is time for Gays and Lesbians to fight with all of our physical ability, monetary power, and at great personal peril. We are in a race against time, when attacks are on the rise and gay and lesbian children are killed every day because of the hate spun out of organized religion in the United States with its influence on the country. It is time to stop spending money on any of these popular votes which are a travesty of justice in any real democracy and start spending it on class action suits where we refuse to pay taxes en masse until our demands are met equally. We need to take to the streets and take back our rights that are violently taken from us every day. I hope congregations that do work to prevent our rights do feel a strong empassioned blow from us so that the next sunday morning they cower in fear of ever displayig their bigotry and hatred to families and children in our community.
Dear fellow humans, It is me, 366gay alias God is Good and etc. I owe all you all a sincere apology. I have been a real ass on this web site among others. I have been spreading my hate in every direction and by any means on your community. I know now that I need to look deeper into myself to understand where this hate and fear of homosexuality comes from. Was I abused when I was a child? Am I gay? Did I grow up in a hateful and fearful environment? Have I been brainwashed by my beliefs? I do not have the answers yet. I would also like to apologize to all of Christianity as my lies and hate are more representative of the individual that I am than any particular belief system. Pray for me, I need help.
I really sympathize with 366gay’s message.
I think we need to rename our country: Let’s call it the United States In Hate…has a catchy ring to it…and so true…especially since we also have a propensity to start wars and then blame the victims(like Iraq).
I just gotta say hate geared towards gays or minorities is flat out wrong. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Hate crime stats are skewed by being not reported, then by being reported. The only reason that rape stats are anywhere close to accurate now is because the legal system finally started to treat rape as a serious crime. The more you define and recognize a thing, the more you find it. It doesn’t mean the incidence is increasing or decreasing. What do most of you think, though? In the last year or two, it seems like there have been more really brutal or over-the-top cases, including intimidation by law enforcement (Ft Worth, Atlanta, San Diego County), schools (northeast San Diego County), bashings (all over NYC), and murders (Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado in PR, Jason Mattison Jr in Baltimore). Then there’s the war that churches have declared on us. And it all feels like it’s happening in a context of our supposed political allies feeling a little too squeamish to actually intervene, so the sociopaths see their opportunities and are maybe more inclined to take them. Is it just perception?
366gay. You state that “such crimes do not come close to those in number on the basis of race”. Well, reporting of hate crimes on the basis of race and religion to the federal government is MANDATORY whereas reports from local jurisdictions on the number of hate crimes on the basis of sexual orientation are required to be accepted by the FBI IF the local jurisdiction CHOOSES to submit them. Most jurisdictions don’t submit statistics on hate crimes on the basis of sexual orientation to the FBI even in states which have laws covering hate crimes on the basis of sexual orientation. We will have to wait till next year to get a better picture of exactly how hate crime categories compare as the new hate crimes law should be in effect by then in a manner which impacts data collection. Also, hate crimes on the basis of gender identity(sometimes the line between these crimes and those based on sexual orientation are not seperable) will also be counted in the new statistics.
Less than a quarter of the nations jurisdictions are currently OPTING to report hate crimes based on sexual orientation so you are likely seeing only a quarter of the overall picture in those statistics. Just sayin’.