Arguments Against Hate Crimes

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In society, being accepting of differing minority groups has always been a difficult task. During the 1900s American society became more accepting of women and African Americans in the eyes of law. As laws and amendments were made in favor of these minority groups, some members of society rebelled and lashed out. When violent acts or crimes occur because of these discriminations, it is called a hate crime. More recently in American society is the acceptance of the LGBTQ community and the legalization of homosexual marriages. With the legalization of marriage equality comes people who find the change within society aggravating. Gregory M. Herek, a psychology professor at the University of California who is an expert in anti-gay violence, states that, “They may feel that the way they see the world is threatened, which motivates them to strike out in some way, and for some people, that way could be in violent attacks” (Herek 2016). According to data collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, because of their sexual …show more content…
This means that a perpetrator of a crime purposely chooses a victim based solely on who they are. This is meant to terrorize a certain group in society. Statistics gathered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation show that sexual orientation and gender identity typically are ranked third and fourth in the motivation of hate crimes; race-based bias being first and religion-based bias being second. Evidence does show that hate crimes against the LGBTQ community is generally under reported in America (Marzullo and Libman). This is because many individuals fear to be outed to their families and employers (Herek). In 2012 60% of all hate crimes were not reported to the police (BJS). Sadly, as Harris Interactive surveys in 2006 report, 54% of LGBTQ people surveyed say they are concerned about being the victim of a hate crime