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VOLUME ±9 . ISSUE 15
SINCE ±9BA WWW.Q-NOTES.COM
DECEMBER 4.2004
FBI says hate crimes on rise
Gay-bashing second highest
reported offense
by Mark Shields
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sexual orienta
tion-based bias crime is now the second
highest category of hate crime offenses in the
U.S., according to new information from the
FBI. Previously the third category behind race
and religion, 1,430 hate crime offenses based
on sexual orientation were reported in 2003.
Six murders were reported based on sexual
orientation — the highest category followed
closely by four murders based on race bias.
“Hate crime continues to be a national
scourge,” says Human Rights Campaign
President Cheryl Jacques. “The current feder
al hate crimes statute needs to be strength
ened immediately to give law enforcement
the tools they need to combat these crimes.”
According to the FBI report “Hate Crime
Statistics; 2003,” more than 8,500 criminal
offenses-were identified as being motivated by
hate. Of these offenses, 1,430 — or 16.4 per
cent — were crimes based on the
victim’s actual or perceived sexual
orientation. Offenses based on
race account for the highest cate
gory of bias crime at 52.5 percent.
The third highest category is
crimes based on religion — also at
approximately 16.4 percent.
“The new statistics only offer a
glimpse of the problem,” said
Jacques. “Reporting these crimes
is voluntary for local jurisdictions
and hate crimes often go unre
ported by victims due to fear and
stigmatization.”
The data also does not track
crimes based on bias against
transgender people. Nov. 20 marked the Sixth
Annual Transgender Day of Remembrance
which marked the loss of 21 transgender indi
viduals to hate violence over the past year.
This summer, the U.S. Senate amended
the defense authorization bill to include a
strong hate crimes measure — the Local Law
Is anti-gay violence on the rise in America? A report from
the FBI shows that 1/430 hate crime offenses based on
sexual orientation were reported in 2003.
Enforcement Enhancement Act (LLEEA) — on a
bipartisan vote of 65-33 with 18 Republicans
voting in favor. On a procedural vote in
September, the House voted in favor of keep
ing the hate crimes measure in the defense
see HATE on 19
Charlotte Pride
facing trouble inside
and out
New board optimistic about challenges
by David Moore
Q-Notes staff
CHARLOTTE — Last year’s annual Charlotte Pride festival
— according to organizers — attracted the largest crowd to
date: an estimated 8,000. Along with the throngs of LGBT par
ticipants cafne a handful of protestors who gathered on the
sidewalk just outside the edge of Marshall Park.
But their activities didn’t stop there
— members of the anti
gay religious group set
" ■: up a tent right along
with LGBT vendors and
organizations.
; .. "We didn’t have any
choice, they submitted the
proper forms just like
everyone else, we had to
let them have their
booth,” then-Pride
CiUAiettt P'UM
Charlotte Pride's new logo
co-director Alex Forrester said at the time.
Kris Conyers, Charlotte Pride’s new president, tells a different
story.
“We didn’t know who they were when they requested the
space,” says Conyers, indicating that organizers were unaware of
the anti-gay message the religious group would be doling out.
Their tent seemingly served as a sort of ground zero for the
protestors — many of whom would later be identified as mem
bers in an anti-gay religious organization known as Operation
Save America (OSA).
The small group of individu- see CHARLOTTEon 18
National LGBT funding
organization picks
Charlotte to receive
grant
Greensboro, N.C., also to be redpient
by Charity Perkins
Tom Warshauer
in response to requests from members of Charlotte’s
lesbian and gay community. Foundation For The
Carolinas annourjeed Nov. 22 that it has applied for and
received a $ 100,000 matching grant from the National
Lesbian & Gay Community Funding Partnership.
The grant will be used to increase community
awareness and funding for lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender concerns in the community.
The Foundation will manage the grant, working closely with a newly-created
Charlotte Lesbian & Gay Fund Board of Directors. The Board of Directors will be
charged with raising $ 100,000 per year locally over the next two years to meet the
requirements to receive the National Partnership’s matching funds. The commit
tee already has received an initial grant of $ 10,000 from the John S. Si James L.
Knight Foundation Donor Advised Fund.
Initial goals of the Board are to increase aware'ness and understanding of
the LGBT community and to expand resources and prograrhs available to
serve the unique needs of LGBT people. In this first stage, UNC Charlotte’s
Urban Institute has conducted a series of focus groups in Charlotte to deter
mine local grantmaking priorities for lesbian and gay issues.
Long-range goals include: support of LGBT programs and services
focused on strengthening infrastructure and capacity, building bridges with
social service agencies to provide outreach services, cultivating relationships
with the non-gay community and building relationships between LGBT and
non-LGBT leadership across our community.
In addition, the local Board will explore creating a permanent endowment
with Foundation For The Carolinas.
According to Tom Warshauer, Economic seeGRANTon21