In stark contrast to the persistent lying campaign of a small, yet vocal, group of conservatives determined to derail the federal hate crimes legislation, a new study by the Williams Institute shows that GLBT people are indeed likely to be victims of hate violence as much as other targeted groups:
Sexual orientation and gender identity are important categories for inclusion in federal law because members of these groups are just as likely to be victimized as members of other groups that are already covered, such as those based on race, religion, or national origin.
The Williams Institute report says that on average 13 out of 100,000 gay, lesbian and bisexual people report hate violence every year. The 13 compares to 8 for African-Americans, 12 for Muslim-Americans and 15 for Jewish-Americans.
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