Despite recent breakthroughs in the fight for gay rights, violent hate crimes against the LGBT community are on the rise. Such crimes (committed against people because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or HIV positive status) were up 13% last year over 2009, according to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs. Of those crimes, 27 were homicides—an increase from 2009's count of 22, and the second-highest total since tracking began in 1996.
The crimes include a 24-year-old woman allegedly killed by the disapproving father of her girlfriend, and a transgender student who had "It," an anti-transgender slur, carved into his chest. Of those murdered, 44% were transgender women and 70% were minorities, the Los Angeles Times reports. Coalition members say hate crimes tend to increase when LGBT civil rights issues are debated publicly. Says a spokesperson, "As we move forward toward full equality, we also have to be responsive and concerned with violence that may run alongside of it." (More gay rights stories.)
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