GAY BASHING

Unfortunately, gays and lesbians in America are still being harassed because of their sexual preferences. Hate crimes, or "gay-bashing," have been on the rise in this country, and others, since the early 1990s. This paper will discuss the political, legal and social issues related to hate crimes against lesbians and gays, as well as gay bashing. The discussion will include an analysis of the problems created by gay bashings and will also highlight some of the most publicized assaults and murders of gay victims which have occurred in recent years. In addition, this paper will outline some of the legislation which certain states and communities are considering in response to the rise in gay- bashing incidents. Moreover, the paper will present the arguments for and against the proposed legislation. The paper will also suggest some solutions for curtailing the recent increase in the violent acts against gays and lesbians in America.

Most members of the gay and lesbian community can recall at least one incident in which they were ridiculed or embarrassed by someone else after having revealed their sexual preference to that person. As one gay high school student put it, he has experienced so much bigotry over the fact that he is gay that he actually tried to commit suicide because he did not feel accepted by his peers. The gay teenager said his lifestyle is not a choice, but just part of him (Tarshis, 1992, p. 7). But being gay or lesbian is a something tha

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itizen vigilantes, and government has also shown no interest in investigating any of the horrible murders (Marin, 1991, p. 48). In Montreal, Quebec, 14 gay men were murdered between 1989 and the late 1993. And the gay community in Montreal was very upset because the police did not vigorously investigate any of the heinous crimes (only five of the 14 murders have been solved by the police). Also, an allegedly gay rector of the Anglican Church was found murdered in his Montreal home in November of 1993 (Came, 1993, p. 12). Finally, in Mexico City, the gay rights group called "El Circulo Cultural Gay" urged Amnesty International and the National Human Rights Commission to get involved in the investigation of unresolved gay murders in Chaipas, Mexico City. The gay rights group deplored the police's inability to identify the killers and claimed that the Mexico City police were not interested in punishing people who commit crimes against gays and lesbians (Smith, 1992, p. 31). In America, the rise of gay-bashing incidents has increased dramatically during the 1990s, especially in the incidents of murder of gay men. One of the first well publicized cases involved the violent murder of Charlie Perez Resendez, which was committed b

Category: Psychology - G