Proposition 8 Causes Surge in Anti-Gay Violence.
This is par for the course. My wife and I have both posted research that shows how anti-gay legislation (bans on same-sex marriage in particular) lead to surges in anti-gay violence. Let me say it now, as my wife just did,: We told you so.
Hate crime cases involving anti-gay sentiment shot up in Santa Clara County last year, a striking increase that a leading prosecutor attributes to controversy over Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban on gay marriage.
Anti-gay incidents accounted for more than half of hate-crime cases last year — 56 percent — a big jump from only 15 percent in 2007. There were 14 anti-gay cases out of 25 hate-crime cases in 2008, compared with only 3 out of 20 in 2007.
“My belief from having done this work for many years is that surges in types of hate incidents are linked to the headlines and controversies of the day,” said Deputy District Attorney Jay Boyarsky, who is assigned to monitor hate crimes. “Marriage equality and Proposition 8 have been in the news, and we have seen an increase in gay-bashing.”
A hate crime is defined as a criminal act committed in whole or in part because of one or more of the following actual or perceived characteristics of the victim: race/ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability or association with a person or group with one or more of these characteristics.
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A note to the bigots. Stop saying we lost nothing. Stop saying we lost “only” the right to call our unions marriage. We lost our right to marry and so much more. In the wake of proposition 8 we lost still more of our ability to feel safe. For Proposition 8 gave full license to you and your ilk to consider us inferior, less than human, even inhuman. It treats us as legal second-class citizens, and in doing so gives bigots like you the assumed privilege to put us in our places by whatever means you deem necessary.
Which is exactly what you wanted, though you’ll never admit it publicly.
