GLBT X-post Hate Crimes Against LGBT-Americans and Jews Rose In California in 2008

[Behind the Aegis]

11/14/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
In 2008, in the lead up to the Prop 8 ballot fight, hate crimes against gays and lesbians rose significantly. While hate crimes against two specific groups rose significantly, biased motivated crimes over all dropped. Hate crimes rose by two percent in California in 2008 over 2007. Of the increase, the largest was against LGBT-Americans and Jews. Hate crimes against LGBT-Americans rose by twenty-eight percent, and accounted for almost a third of all the crimes.

As a note of caution, hate crimes are not simple categories. A person may fit into multiple categories and the hate crimes may fall into several categories. For instance it is possible for someone to be African-American, gay, and Jewish. Thus, adding up all the numbers from the different categories might result in a number far in excess of the 1,397 reported crimes.

More than half the crimes were committed based upon a person’s race or ethnicity, with the majority of those being against African-Americans.

Of the two categories which saw the biggest rise, hate crimes against Jews rose the most. In 2008, there were 184 threats and assaults against Jews in California, a rise of thirty-seven percent. Crimes against LGBT-Americans rose to 440 crimes.

The rise in hate crimes against these two groups likely has different origins. The rise in crimes against Jews likely has its roots in the economic uncertainty of the last year. While the stereotypes of the wealthy Jewish business mogul are inaccurate, many people tend to believe them. Thus, they tend to blame Jews for the economic problems that they, themselves, are facing.

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