Q-Notes T April 1996 PAGE 35
Rising hate crimes associated with increasing politicai rhetoric
DURHAM—On March 11, the North
Carolina Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equal
ity, along with Anti-Violence Programs na
tionwide, released its 1995 hate crime statis
tics. “The violence is on the rise and grow
ing,” stated Coalition Executive Director
Kenda Kirby, “and it appears to be directly
correlated with political rhetoric and hate
speech.”
North Carolina reported physical assaults
against lesbians, gay men, bisexuals,
transgendered persons (LGBT) and persons
perceived to be any of the above rose from six
in 1994 to 28 in 1995. Incidents of harass
ment rose from 33 to 102. The National Gay
and Lesbian Task Force has estimated that as
many as 80 percent of all LGBT biased inci
dents remain completely unreported. In fact,
in 1987, the United States Justice Department
concluded that homosexuals are probably the
most frequent victims of bias-related crime,
illustrating the constant fear most LGBT per
sons feel. Most cases occurred in or near the.
home, next in public areas, and then in the
workplace. These statistics show that many
LGBT persons are never safe, not in their own
homes, in public nor at work. Compounding
the danger, as many as 30 percent of bias
incidents against LGBTs were committed by
total strangers —many of them acting in
groups (the average ratio is 2.34 perpetrators
to 1 victim). Another 13 percent were com
mitted by employers or co-workers.
An indication of the severity of cases.
North Carolina documented higher than the
national average number of offenses per inci
dent. An example would be a June 9 case in
Raleigh in which a man verbally harassed a
woman as she was pumping gas, then punched
her in the face before fleeing the scene. This
case is tallied as one incident and two offenses
(harassment and assault). TheNorth Carolina
average is 2.22 offenses per incident. The
high number shows that the level of violence
is rising as well as the number of actual
incidents. North Carolina total incidents re
ported for 1995 were 97 as compared to 71 in
1994. Coalition representatives say that while
some increase is due to better reporting ef
forts, a jump from six to 28 physical assaults
indicates an actual rise in the occurrences.
The violence appears to be directly corre
lated with political rhetoric and hate speech.
Eight of the 28 physical assaults occurred
during rhetoric surrounding the gay and les
bian film festival held in Durham last May/
June. Five of the eight assaults occurred in the
Triangle area with several cases of threats and
harassment occurring simultaneously.
In one case, from May 23, as the story
about Christian Coalitioners’ protests of the
film festival hit area media outlets, a female
Christian Coalition-backed, district court
judge in Raleigh physically assaulted a fe
male attorney whom the judge presumed to be
a lesbian. Later, at the resulting trial, the
judge attempted to defame the attorney for
belonging to a Business and Professional Guild
which has a high percentage of LGBT mem
bers. The judge was a former head of the
state’s Family Policy Council, a group that is
opposed to LGBT persons.
Running on a parallel track to the film
festival’s media coverage, a neighborhood
experienced a traumatic series of events. In
late May, one white, (presumably) hetero
sexual man called down the street to his
neighbors, “...better clean up your yard, the
queers are coming to town.” These not-so-
subtle remarks were aimed at a pair of inter
racial house mates whom the perpetrator per
ceived to be lesbians. During the course of the
next few weeks, hate rhetoric escalated to
threats and then to gunshots, with inclusion of
Nazi and Klan references. Eventually three
white, male neighbors were convicted in the
case. After a news article reported the case.
Continued on page 37
Eyery lime you are harassed or victimized for your sexual
orientation, race or gender- on the street, at work, at home,
anytime, anywhere - report it to NCCGLE! No one has the
right to harass, threaten or assanit you.
North Carolina Coalition
for Gay and Lesbian Equality
P.O. Box 61392
Durham, NC
27715