Latest Hate Crime Data Show Need for Stronger Prevention Efforts

November 23, 2009 – Posted by Ron Bigler

FBI Report Finds Hate Crime at Highest Level since 2001

Following a slight drop in 2007, the number of reported hate crimes in United States rose in 2008, according to latest figures from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

In its annual report, “Hate Crime Statistics 2008“, the FBI documented 7,783 hate crimes in 2008, up from the 7,624 reported in 2007. The 2008 report shows the highest number of crimes directed at Blacks, Jews, and gay men and lesbians since 2001.

While the uptick in reported hate crimes is a disturbing trend, it may also reflect the fact that a higher number of law enforcement agencies are participating in the FBI’s annual data collection effort. The FBI reported that 13,690 law enforcement agencies in the United States participated in the 2008 report – the largest number of police agencies in the 18-year history of the Hate Crime Statistics Act of 1990.

Other findings include:

• Religion-based crimes increased from 1,400 in 2007 to 1,519 in 2008, and the number of reported anti-Jewish crimes also increased, from 969 in 2007 to 1,013 in 2008.  Reported crimes against Muslims decreased from 115 to 105, the lowest level since 2000.
• The number of hate crimes directed at gay men and lesbians increased for the third year in a row – from 1,265 in 2007 to 1,297 in 2008, with a significant increase in the number of gay and lesbian victims – from 1,512 in 2007 to 1,706 in 2008.
• In a welcome break from a four-year trend, the number of reported crimes directed against Hispanics decreased – from 595 in 2007 to 561 in 2008.

Comprehensive collecting and reporting of hate crime statistics are essential, but stepped up prevention efforts are still very much warranted.

“With data comes awareness and accountability – which must lead to action.  Too frequently we have seen that failure to address bias crimes can cause an isolated incident to fester and result in widespread community tensions,” said Robert G. Sugarman, Anti-Defamation League national chair, and Abraham H. Foxman, Anti-Defamation League national director, in a statement.

Referencing the recent enactment of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA), the ADL is calling on all concerned groups and individuals to join in a coordinated campaign to prevent, deter, and respond effectively to criminal violence motivated by bigotry and prejudice.

A hate crime is defined by the FBI as a criminal act that is motivated by race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity/national origin, or disability. The crime may be committed against a person, property, or society. One provision of the newly-enacted HCPA requires the FBI to begin collecting data on hate crimes directed against individuals on the basis of gender and gender identity as well.

[Via http://unitedwestandbuffalo.org]

Desert Hearts : A Visit With An Old Favorite

Way before the L Word, before The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls In Love, even before Go Fish, there was Desert Hearts. First released in 1986 it has proven to be the most successful lesbian film release EVER. It also has the distinction of being the first lesbian film to ever feature a lesbian relationship without the pitfalls of death, suicides or 180’s into straightsville.

Desert Hearts stars Helen Shaver as Vivian, a soon-to-be divorcee, who travels to a ranch in Reno all the way from New York in order to get quickee divorce decree (all it takes is a six week residency). Once there she meets the step-daughter of the ranch owner, a charming and un-apologetic lesbian named Cay, played by Patricia Charbonneau, whose free spirit entices Vivian to melt some of her icy reserve and to ultimately follow her heart.

I  must have watched Desert Hearts at least a hundred times since I first found it in my hometown’s local video store. I was 13 and overwhelmed to find this mainstream movie that amazingly enough portrayed a touching and honest lesbian love story. Through the years and countless viewings , it’s easy to point out all the reasons why this is such a beloved film. The chemistry between the two characters is palpable and even more so through the love scenes which are credited as being the most erotic in all of lesbian film history. The script was well-written, though sometimes criticized for it’s simple directness, it was also praised for it’s nuanced exploration of not just the lesbian relationship but also of the relationships between friends and between mothers and daughters .  The setting was beautifully displayed, depicting late 1950’s Reno, Nevado. The soundtrack works well against the backdrop and is full of the  melancholy melody and twang of country western favorites from Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash and others. All in all, a really good film, period.

Donna Deitch, the producer and director of Desert Hearts has since released a Vintage 2 Disk Special Edition through Wolfe Videos that is filled with never before seen footage and interviews. She has also announced that she is working on a sequel that will introduce new characters and move the backdrop to New York. That was reported as late as 2008 but an internet search hasn’t yielded any updates on it.

Highly recommended if never seen, for anybody (not just lesbians) who enjoys a good love story.

Desert Hearts Trailer

[Via http://queerfresno.com]

Shit Stirrers

Well im STILL at my friends. Weve been up most nights, sleeping most days. fell asleep at like 3pm yest to 10pm and i had missed the last boat home so im having to go early tomorrow as i have a few appointments in the next few days.

Someone had been reading my bebo and got the wrong end of the stick and started spreading rumours around town that i was a lesbian and that they were worried i was going to leave my fiance for my friend as i was spending too much time with her. the truth is it isnt any of their business and that it costs alot of money to get here and im not coming over for just a few hours at a time. so i went mad with my bebo and deleted nearly everything. im fed up people spreading shit.

I know my friend and i have had a bit of fun but who is anyone else to judge me?

its 4.30am im not tired but im going for the boat soon and i need to get petrol and pick the car up at the other side. hope cars ok.

Iv really enjoyed my time here. my friend has supported me through alot. Its strange in the whole 4 years i was with my ex when i was sad he never really picked up on it straight away and never asked me to talk about it and when i did try talkin to him he made it sound like such a chore. This morning i was feeling quite low and my friend picked up on it straight away and i mean within 5 minutes and asked me what was wrong and we sat for about 2 hours and had a chat. it felt great to be able to get that off my chest. iv never managed to do that with my ex.

xxx

[Via http://notatrial.wordpress.com]

03:13 Rumours and poisonous friends

I’m all back to front with my sleep patterns again – I was up all night and started getting knackered about half 6 this morning but decided to stay up and get a doctors appointment for more medication. Got appointment for 10.40am so stayed up until then. Just as I was getting ready to walk out the door the house phone began to ring and on the other end was this psycho girl I was friends with for about 10 years who is just complete and utter poison. She completely fucked my head for about 3 years until 2 years ago I finally had enough and broke all contact. Our friendship ended on very bad terms, she didn’t live near me anymore and it was a massive relief when I finally told her never to contact me again.

So here I was this morning waiting to go out the door with her on the other end of the phone asking me not to hang up as she had something important to tell me. I didn’t even want to hear what she had to say and I’m pretty sure she could tell by the tone of my voice, she was trying to say all this stuff about being sorry for any hurt she had caused me and stuff but I cut her off and told her just to spit out whatever she had phoned to tell me. So she finally spat out that someone she knew, knew someone I know and there are all these rumours going around that I am in a lesbian relationship or something with this girl. I could feel myself shaking with anger at just hearing her voice as I knew fine well she was just after a bit of gossip and something else to try and fuck my head up with. Needless to say she was told nothing and 10 mins later was off the phone.

Went to docs (late) and saw same one as a couple of weeks ago. She agrees my Lamotrigine dose should be going up but wanted to do liver tests etc before increasing it, so I got blood samples taken and they should be back at the end of the week. She was asking loads of questions about my self harming and suicidal ideas and various other things but I wasn’t in the mood to be telling her stuff so her words kinda fell on deaf ears.

After the docs my friend and I went to the paint shop and got paint for my ceiling then met my Dad and got his ladders then had some lunch. By then it was almost 3pm and having been up all night we were shattered so off to bed we went and didn’t wake up until 10pm! It’s now 3.12 am and I’m wide awake with night being day and day being night again, with an unpainted ceiling and a load of missed calls between us with people on a search party wondering where she was as she been here since Sat and it’s now Wed lol

So that’s my excitement for today, tomorrow I have a meeting with both the social worker and psychologist at 12 which I just want to get over and done with.

Bye for now.

[Via http://mycrazybipolarlife.wordpress.com]

"Hard Love" by Ellen Wittlinger

Title: Hard Love

Author: Ellen Wittlinger

Sequel: Love and Lies: Marisols Story

Pages: 256

Time: Read in about 5 hours

More Info

John Galardi (Giovanni, or Gio for short) is a little less than normal boy who has never really had friends. He’s never really liked girls, he even doubted for a while that he might be gay. Brian, his only “friend” is obsessed with becoming popular and making something out of himself, but John… isnt. That is until he meets the author of his favorite zine Escape Velocity, Marisol, a self proclaimed “rich spoiled lesbian private-school gifted-and -talented writer virgin looking for love”. John starts making new friends and feels he never felt before.  But what happens when he starts falling for the one person who’s ever fully understood him? Mostly when she’s a lesbian.

This book was really good, but mostly just for a quick read. The plot was a little repetitive and started with a boring beggining, and honestly didn’t really get much better. It is really amusing at times, I’ll admit. I mean its pretty funny that the one girl he’s ever liked, ends up being a lesbian. This book was nice but I really wouldn’t  recommend it for people who don’t really have the focus to ride out the boring parts.

[Via http://thewordfly.wordpress.com]

Plaintiff's Rest in Perry case.

So yesterday the Plaintiff’s rested. However they went out with a bang… or at least as much of one is possible in a federal courtroom:

The plaintiffs’ attorneys closed their case by playing excerpts from two simulcasts that were broadcast to gatherings of evangelical voters during the Prop 8 campaign. These simulcasts were sponsored and paid for by ProtectMarriage.com, the official Yes on 8 campaign organization.  In the portions shown, one speaker said, “The polygamists are waiting in the wings, because if a man can marry a man and a woman can marry a woman, the polygamists are going to use that exact same argument and they probably are going to win.”  Another speaker referred to a man marrying a horse, and a third speaker compared the impact of permitting same-sex couples to marry to the 9/11 attacks.

The videos of these outrageous statements, made in a forum sponsored and paid for by the official Yes on 8 campaign, provided a fitting end to the plaintiffs’ case.   It brought the focus back to the long history of demonization the LGBT community has faced in the public sphere– from the grim historical events described in Professor George Chauncey’s testimony two weeks ago to the themes of the Yes on 8 campaign, as shown in today’s videos and the highly inflammatory testimony of Prop 8 proponent Dr. Bill Tam.  The plaintiffs have done an admirable job of laying out the case that Prop 8 was a product of the same kind of prejudice that has driven many other anti-gay laws throughout our nation’s history.

Which means today the Protect Marriage people started up their case. Which consisted of calling a professor they characterized as “an expert on the political power of gay men and lesbians in California and nationally” however I don’t think they did their research on this one:

In addition to offering a surprisingly superficial account of political power, Prof. Miller made several admissions that undermined his credibility as an expert.  Under a withering cross-examination by David Boies, Prof. Miller admitted that, at the time of his deposition, he did not know how many states prohibited sexual orientation discrimination.  He did not recognize many of the leading scholars on gay politics and history, and acknowledged that he had not read their work.  He could not offer an opinion on whether gay people have more political power than African-Americans, even though much more of his scholarship has dealt with the African-American community than the LGBT community.  He also declined to comment on the level of prejudice and negative stereotyping LGBT people face compared to other groups such as African-Americans or women.  Prof. Miller did concede that lesbians must face more prejudice than other women, however, because they experience discrimination on the basis of both gender and sexual orientation.

Boies also questioned Prof. Miller at length about articles Prof. Miller has authored or coauthored that are critical of the initiative process.  In fact, at times, it almost seemed that Prof. Miller might have been offered as an expert by the plaintiffs on the dangers of the initiative process.   For example, Prof. Miller has written that initiatives violate the democratic norms of openness, fairness, and accountability and tend to preclude compromise and informed deliberation.  When asked if he still agreed with those statements, Prof. Miller agreed that he did.  He also acknowledged that initiatives are particularly troubling when they target disfavored minorities.

I really wish this had been broadcast, I’d love to see the faces of the Protect Marriage attorney’s as their case got torn to shreds…

[Via http://queermodesto.com]

Who needs the Hell's Angels when ya' got Northwest Arkansas' new Babes, Bikes, Bling!

Here’s the latest Report from the concerned citizens of Fayetteville, Arkansas on the trouble brewing between families and kids - and fears about wild chicks hangin’ it all out on big, noisy motorbikes.

Imagine the fun your neighborhood Hells Angels chapter and the new chick biker rally in Northwest Arkansas will bring to your neighborhoods in Fayetteville. It sounds like the new Boobs, Butts, and Baby Oil Biker Rally is gonna’ bring out the baad, baaad, baaad asses looking for some booty! Can’t wait to see some stare-downs on Dickson…..

Some folks just can’t imagine what it will do for beer sales, guys who sweep up the condoms and beer bottles from the gutters, and sales-hungry edible panty salesmen.

Not everyone agrees with Rog that what Fayetteville needs is a big ol’ party on Dick Street. Er’ I mean Dickson Street.

Here’s what one local concerned about the impact on families in the neighborhood wrote on Facebook:

“I’d like to thank everyone who showed up tonight to voice your concerns to the city council. I’d like to apologize for my abysmal performance at the podium. I probably should have mentioned that I am a very anxious person and don’t do well in front of crowds. Doing even the little that I did almost sent me running for cover.. Some notes:

The first thing I noticed was the pro-BBB group was very well organized. They were handing out name stickers to show affiliation, wore their business uniforms when available, and almost all of them knew each other.

The pro-BBB group was almost entirely comprised of hospitality industry business owners. If my count is correct, there was only one citizen who was not affiliated with a hospitality industry business who had anything positive to say about the event. Conversely, there were several small business owners and independent citizens who spoke in opposition to the event.

The pro-BBB group’s arguments were twofold. Every single one of them talked about money, and some of them mentioned a negative impact from complicating the permit approval process further.

To their arguments, I would respond (if given the chance, which I was not since I got in line relatively early) that money is not everything. That the image of our town and the comfort and consideration of our citizens should be a factor as well. That one extra step of involving the citizens in the approval process of potentially extremely impacting events is not too much to ask nor do I think it would be significant enough to discourage event proposal..

Again, I’d like to thank everyone who attended, and I look forward to organizing with you in the future to help make Fayetteville a town we’re all proud to live in.”

Sounds like fun to me!

[Via http://rogersarkansas.wordpress.com]