In California, political action courts political violence
Santa Clara County, the California county south of San Francisco, has released its hate-crime data for 2008. In 2007, 15 percent of hate crimes were classified as homophobic; in 2008, 56 percent of hate crimes were motivated by homophobia. What changed? Deputy District Attorney Jay Boyarsky told The [...]

Local GLBT advocacy group Gays and Lesbians Opposed to Violence (GLOV) are calling out Adrian Fenty for what they characterize as a lack of attention to hate-bias motivated attacks in the District. GLOV is upset that the mayor has snubbed the group's appeals for a meeting on the issue. From a press release:
Despite GLOV's many [...]

Though hate crimes decreased on the whole in 2007, the FBI reports that the year saw a marked increase in violence against gays. Hate crimes decreased by 1 percent; crimes against gays increased by six.
So are anti-gay crimes on the rise? Or are they just being tracked and recorded better?

Tony Randolph Hunter, the victim of an assault outside Mt. Vernon Square nightclub BeBar, has died, Metro Weekly reports. Hunter, a gay man, was struck in the back of the head while walking near the club on the evening September 7th. He died yesterday afternoon.
The incident is being investigated as a hate crime by MPD. [...]