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Lesbian Woman: Five Time Victim of Anti-Gay Hate Crimes

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LGBTQ Nation: Anti-LGBTQ Hate Crimes Reach a New High

Anti-LGBTQ Hate Crimes On the Rise

Hate crime murders in the US reached a 27-year high last year, according to new data released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and hate crimes targeting LGBTQ people rose by 6% in 2018 over 2017.

The 24 hate crime murders that occurred in 2018 mark their highest occurrence since the FBI began tracking and reporting hate crimes in 1991. While the number of overall hate crimes dropped slightly from 7,175 in 2017 to 7,036 in 2018, they remain high. Even more troubling: the number of actual hate crimes and murders that occurred in the US is likely to be much higher, due to under-reporting.

Among the 7,036 “single-bias hate crimes” reported in 2018 (that is, hate crimes in which a single perceived characteristic motivated the attacker) 16.7% happened due to sexual orientation bias and 2.2% occurred due to gender identity bias. An additional 59.6% occurred due to racism and 18.7% were motivated by religious-bias. These 7,036 single-biased hate crimes affected 8,646 victims total.

Of the 1,445 victims targeted due to sexual-orientation: 59.7 % were targeted for being gay men, 12.2% were targeted for being lesbian women, and 1.5% were targeted for being bisexual. Another 24.9% targeted LGBTQ people generally without listing a specific identity.

Of the 189 victims targeted for gender-identity, 160 were victims of anti-transgender bias and 29 were victims of anti-gender non-conforming (GNC) bias. This is an increase over the 131 reported anti-transgender or anti-GNC hate crimes in 2017.

[Source: Daniel Villarreal, LGBTQ Nation, November 2019]

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Hate Crimes Defined

A hate crime is any crime which is targeted at an individual due to prejudice or hatred towards the individual’s race, color, national origin, ethnicity, religious belief, disability, language, gender, gender expression, gender identity, or sexual orientation. A hate crime can be committed against an individual, an institution, a business or even society. It’s committed to harm, intimidate or terrify the targeted individual as well as the individual’s group. In hate crimes, the victims have done nothing to warrant such acts of crime, except for the fact that they are who they are.

Violent crime has been declining throughout the United States in recent years, yet hate crimes against LGBTQ people continue to rise. In 1997, at least 18 lives were lost as a result of anti-LGBTQ violence. There were a total of 1,375 reported violent crimes against LGBTQ individuals. Further the societal costs of hate crimes, in terms of self-esteem, productivity, and public expense, are incalculable.

Hate crimes send a message that certain groups of us are not welcome and unsafe in a particular community. As a result, studies indicate that hate crimes appear to have more serious psychological effects on the victims and the communities they represent than do other crimes. Research indicates that victims of hate crimes often link their vulnerability to their personal, cultural, or spiritual identity. The result is that victims of hate crimes often suffer greater emotional trauma than other crime victims.

Hate Groups

The Southern Poverty Law Center (Intelligence Project) monitors the activities of hate groups throughout the United States. Listed here is a sampling of hate groups, including anti-gay organizations.

Abiding Truth Ministries
Alliance Defending Freedom

American Vision

American Family Association

American Freedom Party

America's Promise Ministries
Chalcedon Foundation
Council of Conservative Citizens

Family Research Council
Ku Klux Klan

Liberty Council

Mass Resistance
Traditional Values Coalition
Watchmen on the Walls
Westboro Baptist Church

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Lesbian Couple Brutally Attacked in London

Two women in London were attacked in a bus when they refused to kiss for straight men’s viewing pleasure. Melania Geymonat, 28, and her girlfriend Chris were taking a night bus in London in May 2019.

Geymonat reportedthe incident, saying that she kissed Chris and then four young men started harassing them. The couple and the young men were alone together in the top level of the bus. “They started behaving like hooligans, demanding that we kissed so they could enjoy watching, calling us ‘lesbians’ and describing sexual positions,” she said. “I don’t remember the whole episode, but the word ‘scissors’ stuck in my mind.” She said that she started making jokes, hoping to break the tension and to get the men to go away, but they didn’t. Instead, they started throwing coins at the women.

“The next thing I know is that Chris is in the middle of the bus fighting with them,” Geynomat said. “On an impulse, I went over there only to find her face bleeding and three of them beating her up.” The men started punching her, and she may have lost consciousness. She said that before she realized what happened, police were on the bus and she was bleeding. She found that their phone and bag had been taken. Both victims were taken to the hospital for treatment.

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, denounced the attack, saying, “This was a disgusting, misogynistic attack,” he wrote. “Hate crimes against the LGBTQ community will not be tolerated in London.”

“I’m tired of being taken as a sexual object,” Geymonat stated. “We have to endure verbal harassment and chauvinist, misogynistic, and homophobic violence because when you stand up for yourself shit like this happens.” She said that she wanted to share the picture of her after the attack because “violence has become a common thing” and people don’t pay attention otherwise. “Sometimes it’s necessary to see a woman bleeding after having been punched to feel some kind of impact.”

[Source: LGBTQ Nation, June 2019]

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Hate Crimes Myths and Facts

The Northwest Coalition for Human Dignity is dedicated to sending out the message that it is unacceptable to victimize someone because of that person’s race, religion, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, or disability.

In the aftermath of the horrible torture and murder of Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming on October 6, 1998, a public discussion on the meaning and value of bias crimes laws occupies talk shows, newspapers, and dining room tables. Unfortunately, too often the discussion is based on misinformation. Ironically, in some cases the confusion about bias crimes laws is itself used to promote a hate filled agenda. A society that is committed to equity and justice must focus this important bias crimes discussion on fact, not myth.

Myth: All crimes involve hate. Hate crimes laws are redundant and unnecessary.

Fact: The crimes in question are accurately identified as “bias crimes." The term “hate crimes” is misleading unless it is used with a clarifying addition, “hate crimes motivated by bias.” A bias crime is an act that is motivated by the perpetrator’s bias against the group to which the victim belongs. Obviously, not all crimes that involve hate are included in this definition of a bias crime.

Myth: Bias crimes laws violate free speech rights by criminalizing thoughts and beliefs.

Fact: Bias crimes laws criminalize the action that is motivated by bias, not the bias isolated from the action. The US Supreme Court defined the perimeters of bias crimes laws in relation to free speech issues in two decisions in 1992.

Myth: A murder is a murder. A murder committed out of bias is no different from other murders.

Fact: Not all murders are treated equally in criminal law. The difference between first degree murder and second degree murder, for example, is the intent of the perpetrator. Society has determined in its laws that the intent of the perpetrator changes the nature of the crime committed and therefore a different penalty is appropriate. Enhancing the penalty for a crime involving bias reflects the fact that the harm done by an assault motivated by bias is more serious than the harm from an assault itself.

Myth: An assault committed against a Caucasian person is as serious as one committed against an African-American person. Bias crime laws say one is more serious than the other.

Fact: The crimes are equally serious if in both cases assault is all that is involved. However, if the assault is a bias crime, additional harm is done. First, bias crimes tend to be more violent. Moreover, the harm done to the victim is deeper. The attack is aimed at the very identity of a person, wounding the spirit as well as the body. Second, the effect of fear and intimidation is long lasting. Bias crime victims frequently change their daily patterns of action and sometimes even their residence out of fear. The aftermath of the crime thereby often affects the victim economically. Third, a bias crime intimidates the whole community to which the victim belongs. Finally, bias crimes drive wedges between groups of people and thereby have a serious societal impact.

Myth: Bias crimes laws grant special rights to certain groups.

Fact: Bias crimes laws identify certain categories such as race, not specific communities of people such as Native American. The Bias Crime Law in Washington State, for example, identifies the categories of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation and physical, mental or sensory handicap. The law does not identify specific groups within those categories such as African- Americans, Jewish people, or gays and lesbians. Indeed, bias crime charges have been filed in cases where the victim was white. Bias crimes laws increase the penalty not because of the race etc. of the victim, but because of the bias of the perpetrator. Hence, if a straight man is attacked because the perpetrator perceives him to be gay, the bias crime law may apply.

Myth: Bias crime laws are promoted to further the agenda of certain groups.

Fact: The laws protect everyone within the defined categories: white as well as black, Christian as well as Jew, straight as well as gay. The “special rights” and “gay agenda” attacks of the extreme religious right are dishonest attempts to utilize misinformation and confusion to further their own homophobic agenda. Would a bias crimes law in Wyoming have stopped the perpetrators from killing Matthew Shepard? Probably not. But neither do laws criminalizing robbery stop all robbers. We need inclusive bias crimes laws that are clearly understood and resolutely enforced. Such action sends a loud message that it is unacceptable to victimize someone because of that person’s race, religion, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, or disability. Bias crime law convictions bring justice which helps the healing process for the survivors of the crime, including the community to which the victim belonged. The confusion and misinformation about bias crimes must be cleared up so that we can focus on the real problem, namely, the prejudice and bigotry that gives rise to bias crimes.

[Source: Northwest Coalition for Human Dignity]

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Anti-LGBTQ Hate Speech

Hate crime is any form of crime targeting people because of their actual or perceived belonging to a particular group. The crimes can manifest in a variety of forms: physical and psychological intimidation, blackmail, property damage, aggression and violence, rape, and murder.

Hate speech is public expressions which spread, incite, promote or justify hatred, discrimination or hostility towards a specific group. They contribute to a general climate of intolerance which in turn makes attacks more probable against those given groups.

Homophobic hate crime and hate speech is violence and speech and/or aggression towards LGBTQ people due to their actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity and/or sex characteristics. It includes homophobic and transphobic hate crime and hate speech.

Why is it important to focus on hate crime and hate speech against LGBTQ people? LGBTQ people fear violence and hate everywhere they go. LGBTQ individuals experience physical/sexual violence or threats on a daily basis.

In general, hate crime and hate speech aim to undermine the dignity and value of a human being belonging to a particular social group – based on their skin color, ethnicity, religion/belief, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics. On a wider scale, it sends a negative message to LGBTQ communities, their supporters and rest of the society. It implies that a particular social group does not deserve recognition, respect, equality and tries to legitimize attacks on members of that group.

LGBTQ people hear hate speech (hurtful comments) at every turn. On the internet (cyberbullying on social media), in the classroom, on campus, in the workplace, on the bus, and in the neighborhood. Hate speech against LGBTQ people can be heard from the media, teachers, politicians, and preachers. LGBTQ people are victims of hate speech much more frequently than the rest of the population.

Anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and anti-gay speech are themes, catchphrases, and slogans that have been used against homosexuality or other non-heterosexual sexual orientations and to demean lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. They range from the demeaning and pejorative to those expressing negativity on religious, medical, or moral grounds. The rhetoric generally has an ideological basis in heterosexism, and can be motivated by homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia.

The slogans are not just terms of invective but they represent arguments that are commonly used to convey opposition to LGBTQ rights or to the full acceptance of LGBTQ people. Such themes align homosexuality with sinfulness, immorality, unnatural desires, child abuse, unhealthy behaviors, and in opposition to traditional family values.

Anti-LGBTQ Rhetoric

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North Carolina Pastors Spews Anti-Gay Speech

In June 2012, Pastor Charles L. Worley of Providence Road Baptist Church in Maiden, NC, condemned President Obama's much publicized endorsement of same-sex marriage while calling for gays and lesbians to be put in an electrified pen and ultimately killed off.

"Build a great, big, large fence, 150 or 100 mile long, and put all the lesbians in there," Worley suggested. "Do the same thing for the queers and the homosexuals and have that fence electrified so they can't get out. And you know what, in a few years, they'll die out. Do you know why? They can't reproduce!"

He also said that if he's asked who he'll vote for, he'll reply, "I'm not going to vote for a baby killer and a homosexual lover!" Many of the congregants cheered and replied, "Amen."

Worley added, “It makes me puking sick to think about. I don’t even know whether or not to say this in the pulpit. Can you imagine kissing some man?”

The pastor's comments seem in line with statements made by Ron Baity, founding pastor of Berean Baptist Church in Winston-Salem and head of the anti-marriage equality organization Return America, who told his own congregation that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people should be prosecuted as they were historically, and Pastor Sean Harris of the Berean Baptist Church in Fayetteville who advocated parents “punch” their male child if he is effeminate and "crack that wrist" if he is limp-wristed.

Similarly, Tim Rabon, pastor of Raleigh's Beacon Baptist Church, condemned states such as Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maryland which have already "re-defined" marriage to include lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender couples before asking his congregants, "What is stopping them from refining marriage from a person and a beast? We're not far from that."

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Fred Phelps: Minister of Hate

The Westboro Baptist Church is a fundamentalist religious organization, founded by Fred Phelps and based in Topeka, Kansas. The church runs numerous websites such as GodHatesFags.com, GodHatesAmerica.com and others expressing condemnation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, Roman Catholics, Muslims and Jews, as well as populations it believes are supporting the aforementioned groups.

The organization is monitored by the Anti-Defamation League, and is classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Although well-known in LGBTQ communities for picketing gay pride events and funerals, the group achieved national notoriety for picketing funeral processions for soldiers killed in action during the Iraq War.

While its members identify themselves as Baptists, the church is an independent church not affiliated with any known Baptist conventions or associations, nor does any Baptist institution recognize the church as a Bible-believing fellowship. The church describes itself as following Primitive Baptist and Calvinist principles, though mainstream Primitive Baptists condemn Westboro Baptist Church and Phelps. Its first public service was held in November 1955.

The church bases its work around the belief expressed by its best known slogan and the address of its primary website, “God hates fags”, and expresses the idea, based on biblical verses, that nearly every tragedy in the world is linked to homosexuality, specifically society’s increasing tolerance and acceptance of the so-called “Homosexual Agenda.” The group maintains that God hates homosexuals above all other kinds of “sinners” and that homosexuality should be a capital crime.

There is estimated to be no more than 150 members of Westboro Baptist Church, the majority of whom are Fred Phelps' family members (spouses, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren).

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Fred Phelps Dies

Fred Phelps, the founding pastor of the hateful independent Kansas church known for its virulently anti-gay protests at public events, has died. The 84-year-old died of natural causes on March 19, 2014. Phelps founded Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas in 1955 and molded it in his hate-filled, fire-and-brimstone image. Many members of the small congregation are related to Phelps through blood or marriage.

It is estimated that the church has picketed more than 53,000 events. Typically, a dozen or so church members (including small children) brandished signs that said "God Hates Fags." Phelps was often called "the most hated man in America," a label he seemed to relish. "If I had nobody mad at me," he said, "what right would I have to claim that I was preaching the Gospel?" Under Phelps' leadership, Westboro members have preached that every calamity, from natural disasters to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, is God's punishment for the country's acceptance of homosexuality. Phelps had advocated for gays and lesbians to be put to death.

"Fred Phelps will not be missed by the LGBTQ community, people with HIV/AIDS and the millions of decent people across the world who found what he and his followers do deeply hurtful and offensive," the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force said in a statement. Phelps began his hateful anti-gay protests in Wichita in 1991 after complaining that the city refused to stop gay activities in a public park. He rose to national notoriety in 1998, when Westboro members picketed at the funeral of Matthew Shepard, a Wyoming man who was tortured and murdered because he was gay. Phelps and his church carried signs that said Shepard was rotting in hell. The Southern Poverty Law Center calls Westboro Baptist Church "arguably the most obnoxious and rabid hate group in America."

Defining Hatred

Hatred or hate is an emotion. It can invoke feelings of animosity, anger, or resentment, which can be directed against certain individuals, groups, entities, objects, behaviors, concepts, or ideas. Hatred is often associated with feelings of anger, disgust and a disposition towards the source of hostility. It is an intense or passionate dislike, contempt, or animosity for something or someone. To hate someone is to loathe, detest, abhor, and despise them.

A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime) generally refers to criminal acts which are seen to have been motivated by hate. Those who commit hate crimes target victims because of their perceived membership in a certain social group, usually defined by race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, mental disorder, disability, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender identity, or political affiliation. Incidents may involve physical assault, destruction of property, bullying, harassment, verbal abuse or insults, or offensive graffiti or letters (hate mail).

Hate speech is speech (talk, rhetoric, verbiage, language) perceived to disparage a person or group of people based on their social or ethnic group, such as race, sex, age, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, mental disorder, disability, language ability, ideology, social class, occupation, appearance (height, weight, skin color), mental capacity, and any other distinction that might be considered a liability.

Hate Crimes Statistics

Hate Crimes by Bias Type

--48.5 percent were due to racial prejudice
--19.7 percent were due to religious prejudice
--18.5 percent were due to sexual orientation prejudice
--11.8 percent were due to ethnicity or national origin prejudice
--1.5 percent were due to disability prejudice

Hate Crimes by Activity Type

--45 percent were intimidations
--35.4 percent were simple assaults
--19.1 percent were aggravated assault
--0.5 percent were 8 murders and 9 forcible rapes

Hate Crimes Against Property

--83 percent were classified as acts of vandalism, destruction, and damage
--17 percent were burglary, arson, larceny-theft, robbery, motor vehicle theft, and others

Hate Crimes by Race of Offenders

--62.4 percent were white
--18.5 percent were black
--7.3 percent were groups of multiple races
--1 percent were Native Americans or Native Alaskans
--0.7 percent were Asian/Pacific Islander
--10.1 percent unknown

Hate Crimes by Location

--31.3 percent took place in or near homes
--17.2 percent occurred on alleys, highways, streets or roads
--11.4 percent took place in schools
--6.1 percent happened in garages or parking lots
--4.3 percent occurred in churches, temples, and synagogues
--29.7 percent other locations

[Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2009 Report]

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