Hate Crimes on the Rise

The FBI has released its statistics for 2006 and hate crimes are on the rise. There were eight percent more hate crimes in 2006 than the previous year. Most crimes were against racial minorities, but attacks against gays and lesbians are also up. Crimes against members of the GLBT community were the third largest reported, at just over 15%.

Of course, not all hate-motivated crimes are reported, or reported as such. For example, the highly publicized beatings of a black student in Jena, LA would not have been included in the FBI statistics because LaSalle Parish, where Jena is located, is not one of the jurisdictions that participated in federal hate crime reporting. Also, the FBI does identify bias crimes against the trans community.

Despite the rise in hate motivated crimes, the Matthew Shepard Act, which would add sexual orientation to Federal hate crimes legislation, is currently tied up in committee and President Bush has indicated he will veto the legislation. What exactly is the Matthew Shepard Act and how will it impact the GLBT community?
_{© Sara Hoffman}