LGBT Hate Crimes Increase Another 13% with 44% of Transgender Women Killed

The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs report says violent crimes against people in the LGBT community rose 13% in 2010, and that minorities and transgender women were more likely to be targeted. (Kentucky Equality Federation Outreach Directors)

In March 2011 in Northern Kentucky:

Hate crimes are nothing new to Northern Kentucky; indeed, Kentucky Equality Federation has intervened and acted as public advocate in 6 such cases. In Covington, the Commonwealth's 3rd largest city, at the request of the Commonwealth's Attorney, a Kentucky Circuit Judge ruled that a white supremacist had committed a hate crime when he attacked four people last year outside a bar frequented by gay people. Under Kentucky law, sexual orientation and gender identity can be classified as hate crimes by the Commonwealth's Attorney with the final decision residing with the presiding Judge.

Devlin Burke, whose body is covered in tattoos of swastikas and other white supremacist symbols, shouted out "sieg heil" as a judge sentenced him Tuesday, the Kentucky Enquirer reported. (Northern Kentucky Hate Crime Story)

Brandon McInerney, left, was 14 when he shot gay classmate Larry King. Now 17, he's standing trial on first-degree murder and hate-crime charges.

An 18-year-old gay man from Texas allegedly slain by a classmate who feared a sexual advance. A 31-year-old transgender woman from Pennsylvania found dead with a pillowcase around her head. A 24-year-old lesbian from Florida purportedly killed by her girlfriend's father, who disapproved of the relationship.

The homicides are a sampling of 2010 crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people compiled by a national coalition of anti-hate organizations.

The report, released Tuesday, showed a 13% increase over 2009 in violent crimes committed against people because of their perceived or actual sexual orientation, gender identity or status as HIV positive, according to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs.

Last year's homicide count reached 27, up from 22 in 2009, and was the second-highest total since the coalition began tracking such crimes in 1996. Of those killed, 70% were minorities and 44% were transgender women.

The data are compiled by the coalition's 43 participating organizations and are not comprehensive. They include crimes reported to the groups by victims who did not seek help from law enforcement. In fact, 50% of the 2010 assault survivors did not make police reports, with minorities and transgender people the least likely to come forward, the report said.

Among the cases was an April 2010 attack on Cal State Long Beach transgender student Colle Carpenter, who was cornered in a campus restroom by an assailant who carved "It" on his chest. Jake Finney, project manager with the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, said campus police initially "were not clear that the word 'It' was a slur and indicated anti-transgender bias." The center contacted the FBI, which assisted in the investigation, and the crime was ultimately classified as hate-motivated, Finney said.

The 2010 murder count is second to the 29 logged in 1999 and 2008. Among the 2008 fatalities was gay Oxnard junior high school student Larry King. The classmate charged in that killing, Brandon McInerney, is on trial.

Coalition members said hate crimes tended to increase after other high-profile attacks and when civil rights advances for the LGBT community were publicly debated.

"As we move forward toward full equality, we also have to be responsive and concerned with violence that may run alongside of it," spokeswoman Roberta Sklar said. "We don't want to go back into the closet to avoid it."

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-lgbt-hate-crimes-20110713,0,3199857.story

--> Posted by a volunteer Community Blogger of Kentucky Equality Federation. This is the official blog of Kentucky Equality Federation. Posts contained in this blog may not be the official position of Kentucky Equality Federation, its volunteer officers, directors, management, supported organizations, allies or coalitions, but rather the personal opinions or views of the volunteer Community Bloggers. The opinions or views expressed in the blog are protected by Section 1 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky as non-slanderous free speech; blogs are personal views or opinions and not journalistic news sites.