No one Deserves to Be Hated

No One Deserves to be Hated

Like it or not homosexuals are people too. America has come a long way since slavery and civil rights; but not far enough. Fellow Americans are still being persecuted for making decisions about their own lives that people do not agree with. Just because someone is different does not give anyone else the right to kill them or degrade them to the point where they feel less than human.

In America there are many groups that are affected by hate crimes. The Federal Bureau of Investigations conducted a research study, gathering yearly data from different sources. Between 1995 and 2005 eight out of 100,000 African Americans reported being the victim of a hate crime. Twelve out of 100,000 Muslims also reported being victimized. Lastly, thirteen out of 100,000 gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals reported being the victim of a hate crime. The most shocking detail of this study may be the fact that only about 44% of hate crimes are actually reported. (Stotzer.1)

There may be a number of reasons why a homosexual would not report a hate crime that happened to them. Sometimes it is not always the reason people may think; fear of retaliation. They could lose their jobs. Some have been evicted from their homes; they may even run the risk of losing children and being alienated by their families. Gay-Bashing is a serious problem in the United States. It will continue to be a huge problem, especially of victims are afraid to come forward. (Barbour, et al, 27).

On average hate crimes are committed by men in their teens to early twenties that come from middle class families; but why? Lieutenant Johnston claims, "Antigay attacks are socially encouraged, gays are the only group in the United States that it is okay to beat up." Many people use religion to justify their actions. (qtd. In Ed. Barbour et al., 27). It seems to be that many people commit hate crimes because they are afraid of what they do not understand; and society also affirms those beliefs.

Many works have been published speaking out against adding homosexuals to the list of individuals that fall in the category of protected minorities. A report published by the, Traditional Values Coalition, states, "Penalties against a criminal who kills a homosexual are greater than if a criminal kills a father of four is not a part of a federally-protected "class" under federal law." It is also stated that, "Homosexuality and cross-dressing are behaviors, not fixed unchangeable characteristics like race." (1). So many people believe that if homosexuals want to be safe then they should act "normal" like everyone else.

Some people with power use that power to influence society. A radio personality name Dr. Laura was quoted as saying, "If two men can be sanctified in this country as married," she asked, "then what is your logical or justifiable reason to exclude adult incest." (qtd. In Corvino, 87). This reasoning would lead many people to believe that if others saw them as homosexual supporters then they obviously must support adult incest. By putting this sickening twist on things many people's minds would change and perhaps even cause communities to retaliate against gays. However this same outlook and expression about the linking to incest was used in the 1960's against interracial marriage. (Corvino, 87). As long as people believe they have the right to tell others who they may or may not marry America might as well return to the days of betrothals. Some powerful people do not realize that by influencing society they may also be justifying a horrible crime in the mind of someone else.

Many innocent people have died as a result of hate crimes. Steven Higgs, a newspaper reporter had this to say, "Aaron Hall was brutally beaten on April 12th for two hours by two teenage boys. He died naked and alone in a field, where he had crawled after his killers dumped his body in a roadside ditch." (sec 1). Eddie "Gwen" Araujo was beat with a skillet, strangled and kicked for two hours by four young men in a basement. Then wrapped in a tarp and buried in a shallow grave 150 miles away. Afterwards the four went out for breakfast and spoke of how they wanted to kill him all over again. None of them were convicted of hate crimes. (Locke 7). Scott Amedure was shot twice in the chest at close range by a man he admitted to having a crush on during a taping of the Jenny Jones Show in 1995. (Bradsher sec 12). Matthew Shepard was kidnapped, tied to a fence post, robbed, pistol whipped and left for dead in below freezing temperatures. He remained there for 18 hours until a passerby found him and called an ambulance. He was in a coma for five days before dying. (par 1). Most recently Andrew Anthos was beat to death with a metal pipe on a Detroit bus and left for dead. He was 72 years old. (Sinclair 1). If these stories do not tug at America's heartstrings nothing will.

Terrible crimes are committed every year. When someone is victimized it is more than just bodily harm, the damage done can be compared to the aftermath of a rape. In the case of death what is left behind are mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, significant others, and sometimes children. The people left behind deal with the loss of someone they deeply loved every day for the rest of their lives. The damage done is permanent and the pain cannot be alleviated.

Some family members of the victims refuse to let their deaths be in vain. The mother of Gwen Araujo, Sylvia Guerrero spoke on behalf of a bill bearing her daughter's name, the Gwen Araujo Justice for Victims Act. This bill is going to limit the use of the "Gay Panic" defense in California. (Tillman, 1). Alice Kessler who testified along with Sylvia Guerrero, had this to say "By providing funding to train district attorney's on how to effectively deal with the so-called "panic strategy" and telling juries that they cannot allow bias against the victim due to their gender, sexual orientation, race or religion to influence their verdict, this legislation is an important