NOW Links Arms with LGBT Allies Against Hate Crimes

By Dara Goldberg, Field Organizing and Chapter Development

March 9, 2007

For more than 35 years, NOW and our 500,000 members and contributors across the country have been fighting for lesbian rights. NOW believes that a woman's right to her own person includes the right to define and express her own sexuality and to choose her own lifestyle. NOW also believes marriage is a fundamental right that should not be denied to same-sex couples, and was one of the first progressive organizations to "come out" for equal marriage. We will continue this fight because women will not achieve full equality until every woman can pursue her dreams free from discrimination.

NOW is working with its allies at Gender Public Advocacy Coalition's (GPAC) by supporting the "50 Under 30" public education campaign. This campaign calls for decisive action by human rights and other advocacy organizations, legislators, police, educators, media and youth to stand up for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights and against hate crimes that target people who do not fit into social "norms."

Since 1995, more than 50 young people in the U.S. aged 30 and under were violently murdered by assailants who targeted them because they did not fit stereotypes for masculinity or femininity. These deaths are underreported, under-publicized, and under-solved -- 54 percent of the deaths remain unsolved, as compared with 31 percent for all homicides nationally in 2004. Authorities often fail to categorize these attacks as gender-based assaults or as hate crimes. If they are covered by the media, the biological sex of the victim is typically reported and not their gender identity or gender expression. Since the epidemic is rarely viewed as an attack on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression, its root causes are never fully explored, nor are initiatives to address these crimes developed.

Currently, only ten states -- California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, New Mexico, Minnesota, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Vermont -- plus Washington, D.C., have added gender identity and gender expression or similar language to their hate crimes laws. No federal law has been passed, thus such statutes only apply to about 24 percent of the U.S. population (according to the 2006 "50 Under 30" GPAC report).

This epidemic must be stopped and we all have an important role to play in stopping gender-based discrimination and harassment and its escalation into fatal assaults through early intervention, education, advocacy, and prevention.

NOW is taking action by supporting The Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act which will extend federal hate crime laws beyond the narrow scope of protected federal activities (such as voting) to include violent crimes on the basis of gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. At the same time, the bill protects freedom of speech by specifying that evidence of a hateful motive must be directly linked to the violent crime in question. The Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act will allow the government to assist localities in the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes. When local law enforcement is unwilling or unable to investigate a hate crime, this federal protection will ensure that every hate-based crime is addressed and the people are protected.

NOW activists across the country have been working for the passage of expanded federal hate crimes legislation because our members know first hand how vicious crimes of hate can affect someone's life. We also know that hate crimes are more than individual assaults-they send shock waves and fear through an entire community by conveying a violent message of intolerance.

NOW urges people of all sexual orientations to stand united against discrimination based on gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation.

Take Action! To learn more about GPAC's "50 Under 30" public education campaign-and what we can do in our communities to help stem this tide of violence -- visit http://www.50under30.org.

Read NOW's letter to the House of Representatives about hate crimes prevention legislation. (PDF)