Nov 20, 2007Quickie Link: Hate Crimes Against Gays Rise
By vanrozenheim
(USA) - Hate crime incidents in the United States rose last year by nearly 8 percent, the FBI reported Monday, as racial prejudice continued to account for more than half the reported instances. Crimes against Gays and Lesbians were the third larges reported, at 15.5 percent. Of that figure, more than half of the crimes were committed against Gay men. The FBI includes bias crimes against Gays and Lesbians in its report although currently there is no federal hate law that includes the LGBT community. The Matthew Shepard Act, which would add sexuality to the list of categories covered under federal hate crime law, passed the House in May and the White House threatened to veto it.
