State and National Statistics Reflect Increased Violence in the Context of Legislative, Judicial, and Political Victories

Denver – Reported incidents of bias-motivated violence against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities in Colorado rose sharply in the second half of 2003, echoing a national trend of backlash in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning sodomy laws on June 26, 2003.

While nationally the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) saw a 24% rise in the aggregate data for bias-motivated violence from July through December of 2003, Colorado the statistics are even more extreme. During the first half of 2003 reports of hate crimes were actually down 23% (66 to 51) over the same period for 2002 in Colorado. But from July to December reports of bias-motivated violence skyrocketed 133% over the same period in 2002, one of the greatest increases from NCAVP reporting agencies.

“This is an stunning increase,” commented Denise de Percin, Executive Director of the Colorado Anti-Violence Program, a community-based agency that documents and publishes annual reports of bias-motivated violence against the LGBT community. “The last time we saw a spike this big was in the aftermath of the murder of Matthew Shepard. We know that increased visibility means increased targeting,” she continued. “The polarized daily coverage of LGBT issues has raised the profile of our community, and galvanized into action the people who hate us.”

The Lawrence v. Texas decision overthrowing sodomy laws was issued in June 26, 2003 and the Massachusetts Supreme Court decisions concerning same-sex marriage were issued in November 2003 and February 2004. Meanwhile, Colorado is again ground zero for the anti-gay movement, as it was during the days of Amendment 2. The amendment to the U.S. Constitution banning same-sex marriage is being spearheaded by Colorado Representative Marilyn Musgrave, and several anti-gay resolutions and bills – including a resolution to support the Federal ban – have been introduced into the Colorado congress this session.

“Anti-LGBT rhetoric and anti-LGBT legislation together create a hostile climate for LGBT people here in Colorado,” observed CAVP Program Director Carter Klenk who prepared the 2003 hate crimes data from client intakes. “It gives people tacit approval to act violently, because they wrongly believe they have societal approval.

Some examples of the recent harassment and violence against the LGBT community in Colorado include:

• Two days after the Massachusetts Supreme Court February 3, 2004 decision affirming that only marriage would meet the requirements of that state’s constitution, a man upset about the decision and the media coverage made repeated harassing and threatening calls to four LGBT agencies in Colorado, including the Colorado Anti-Violence Program.
   
• A person who signs himself as The Watcher(s) has periodically been sending vitriolic and hateful letters to LGBT people in Denver metro area. Recently, the number of letters has escalated. It appears now that this person is sending letters to any one who has a gay-positive letter published in either of the papers. A pile of these letters was placed on the West steps of the Capital during the February 20th rally sponsored by Marilyn Musgrave and the Rocky Mountain Family Council.

“As long is there is widespread media coverage of LGBT issues, including but not limited to same-sex marriage, we can expect ongoing targeting,” said de Percin. “While as individuals and as a community we need to take steps to ensure our safety, the CAVP also calls on law enforcement agencies in Colorado to respond to the very real threats against our community, and to make certain that these crimes are documented in accordance with the Federal Hate Crimes Statistics Act passed in 1990.”

Teva Sienicki, co-director of Civil Rights Now, an LGBT advocacy group that works on family and parenting issues observed, “While fair-minded Coloradoans are beginning to understand that their neighbors deserve fair and equal treatment under the law, a small minority of extremists fear any change that will give legal recognition to LGBT couples and families. It is a shame that while people are fighting for the fundamental right to marry the person they love, that they have to also worry about their personal safety.

“LGBT people will not be intimidated or terrorized into silence,” said Klenk. “It is exactly what perpetrators want, for us to go away. On the contrary, we are going to speak up louder and more frequently.”

The full annual report on anti-LGBT violence in 2003 will be released on April 28th in Colorado and simultaneously across the country by the 27 member agencies of the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs.

NCAVP REPORTING FOR 2003
POST-LAWRENCE INCREASES IN ANTI-LGBT VIOLENCE

* Connecticut is a new program to the NCAVP; a member program must contribute data for three consecutive years before its data is included in the aggregate data in the annual report.