From: [email-masked] Mon Apr 18 08:36:21 1994

HATE  CRIMES  LAWS:

 In 1990, the federal government enacted the Hate Crime Statistics
Act (HCSA), which requires the FBI to gather statistics on crimes
motivated by bias against the victim, including those based on
sexual orientation. The FBI has released national statistics
collected in 1991 and 1992 under the HCSA.  In 1991, the FBI reported
that 422 or 8.9% of the 4,755 reported hate crimes in 1991 were
committed against lesbians, gay men and bisexuals. Nine hundred
and thirty one or 11% of the 8,075 incidents the FBI reported for
1992 were committed against lesbians, gay men or bisexuals. (Federal
Bureau of Investigation, 1992 & 1994.)

 In recent years, a growing number of states have passed laws to
monitor and counteract crimes motivated by bigotry.  Despite a
very large body of data to show that anti-gay violence is alarmingly
widespread,  many hate crime l aws ignore crimes based on sexual
orientation.

  Twenty two states and the District of Columbia and several cities
and counties have enacted hate crime legislation that includes
crimes based on sexual orientation.  The laws vary as to whether
they include provisions for statistics collection, criminal penalties,
civil penalties and injunctive relief.

(Source:  Maps and lists of hate crimes laws can be obtained from
the NGLTF Policy Institute)

The NGLTF Policy Institute Anti-Violence Project helps local
communities organize against anti-gay/lesbian violence. It also
promotes a strong official response to violence and works to improve
the treatment of lesbians and gay men by the criminal justice
system.  For further information, contact Anti-Violence Project
Director Martin Hiraga, (202) 332-6483, ext. 3307.  E-mail:
<[email-masked]>.