4 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE November 7, 2008
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www.GayPeoples Chronicle.com
Hate crime went down last year, but LGBT incidents rose
by Matt Apuzzo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Washington, D.C.-Reported hate crime incidents decreased slightly last year despite a surge in those targeting gays and lesbians.
The FBI reported more than 7,600 hate crimes incidents in 2007, down about one percent from the previous year. The decline was driven by decreases in the two largest categories of hate crime-those against race and religion.
But incidents linked to prejudice against sexual orientation, the third-largest category, increased about six percent, the report found.
The FBI report does not compare its data from one year to the next because the number of law enforcement agencies participating in the annual count varies from year to
year. More agencies contributed to the 2007 report than the 2006 report, however.
The report released on October 27 is consistent with previous years. Racial bias remained the most common motive, accounting for more than half of all reported hate crimes. Blacks, Jews and gays were the most frequent victims of hate crime, the report found.
The FBI report is purely statistical and does not assign a cause for the slight overall decrease or increase in anti-gay hate crime.
More than a third of all hate crimes were categorized as vandalism or property destruction. Intimidation was the second-most common hate crime, followed by simple assault.
The report was based on data drawn from 13,241 law enforcement agencies nationwide, covering about 85 percent of the nation's population. By comparison, the
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broader crime report the FBI puts out every year draws data from about 17,000 law enforcement agencies.
Social service organizations like the Buckeye Region Anti-Violence Organization always note to take such statistics with
Marriage
Continued from page 1
Alaska passed the first two in 1998.
Arkansas, having already banned samesex marriage, turned instead to barring adoption and foster parenting by same-sex couples.
The measure, which more specifically bans adoption or foster parenting by any
At least 77 LGBT candidates were elected to state or local offices around the nation.
unmarried couple living together, passed 57 percent to 43 percent.
While it would bar fostering and adoption by unmarried heterosexual couples, the main thrust of the campaign was centered around same-sex couples.
First out gay man elected to the House
The congressional races were less gloomy for LGBT people, thankfully.
In Colorado's second congressional district, Jared Polis made national history by being the first openly gay man elected to Congress, an almost foregone conclusion after he won his party's primary in this Democratic stronghold that includes the city of Boulder.
Other gay men have come out after being elected to Congress and Wisconsin's Tammy Baldwin was out when she first ran, but this is the first time a male candidate was out before being elected.
In her Madison, Wisconsin district, Baldwin retained her seat with a victory margin of over 2 to 1 against Republican challenger Peter Theron.
Barney Frank, who is one of the House's most powerful Democrats as chair of the House Financial Services Committee, defeated his Republican opponent, Earl Sholley, by a slightly larger margin.
The landslides in favor of Baldwin and Frank were expected.
One congressional defeat came in South Carolina, where out lesbian Linda Ketner attempted to unseat incumbent Henry Brown, Jr. While her defeat was expected, she lost by only six percent.
In Colorado's fourth congressional dis-
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a grain of salt, however. Hate crime incidents, especially those against LGBT people, are notoriously underreported, in part due to trust issues between the LGBT community and the police.
trict, anti-gay zealot Marilyn Musgrave saw her seat taken away by Democrat Betsy Markey, 55 percent to 45 percent.
Musgrave's major claim to fame was her introduction of the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would write a ban on same-sex marriage into the United States Constitution.
New York Senate tips toward marriage
For the first time in 40 years, the New York Senate will have a Democratic majority, after the party won at least 32 seats in the 62-seat chamber.
This makes the Senate much more likely to pass a full same-sex marriage bill approved by the Assembly earlier this year. The measure has the backing of Gov. David Paterson, but GOP leaders of the present Senate had blocked it from coming up.
In Oregon, Kate Brown will become the next secretary of state. Since there is no lieutenant governor in that state, Brown, who is open about her bisexuality, will be Oregon's second highest elected official.
At least 77 other LGBT candidates were also elected or re-elected to state or local offices around the nation, according to the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund. The Washington, D.C. group backed a record 111 out candidates for office this year. Other LGBT, who did not seek or receive Victory Fund support, are not included in their figures. 70% of GLB votes went to Obama
The presidential election saw Barack Obama facing off against John McCain, who until this election cycle had been relatively fair to the LGBT community. However, his rightward march for his party's nomination, and the selection of Sarah Palin, turned some gays away from their former support for McCain.
While Obama opposes same-sex marriage, his message of change and of the integration of marginalized groups struck a chord with many queer voters. In almost every stump speech regardless of the audience, Obama included "gay and straight" in his list of Americans who "are, and always will be, the United States of America."
In Ohio, almost every major population center in the state went for Obama, including all of the northeast corner of the state. It marked the first time since Lyndon Johnson that Hamilton County, which includes Cincinnati, went for a Democratic candidate.
A CNN exit poll indicated that of the 4% of voters who identified themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual, 70% voted for Obama, 27% for McCain, and 3% for another candidate. The overall popular vote was 52.3% Obama and 46.2% McCain.
Ohio also saw record attendance at the polls, with over five million people turning out to cast votes in the historic election.
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