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Wednesday, March 13th, 2024

In states with laws targeting LGBTQ issues, school hate crimes quadrupled

Author:     Laura Meckler, Hannah Natanson, John D. Harden
Source:     Microsoft Start
Publication Date:     11 March 2024
 Link: In states with laws targeting LGBTQ issues, school hate crimes quadrupled
Stephan:  

When you breed hate you get hate crimes, and that is exactly what is happening to LGBTQ kids where the Trump christofascist Party (TCP) controls the state government. This is the exact opposite of government designed to foster wellbeing. This is part of the Great Schism Trend, and I believe we are going to see families with LGBTQ kids moving from these Red states.  How big is this population: Here is what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has to say:

Number and percentage of students, by sexual identity — Youth Risk Behavior Surveys, 2021

 
Site Sexual identity
Heterosexual (straight) Gay or lesbian Bisexual Other/Questioning
No. % CI* No. % CI No. % CI No. % CI
National survey
Total 12,421  74.2 (72.4–75.9)    520   3.2 (2.7–3.7)  1,848  11.9 (10.9–12.9)  1,482   9.0 (8.0–10.0)
Male  7,358  87.3 (85.8–88.7)    195   2.4 (1.9–3.1)    356   4.0 (3.2–5.1)    333   3.7 (3.1–4.3)
Female  4,992  61.6 (59.1–64.0)    298   3.7 (3.0–4.5)  1,449  20.0 (18.5–21.6)  1,055  13.7 (12.3–15.3)
LGBTQ students Credit: USA Today

School hate crimes targeting LGBTQ+ people have sharply risen in recent years, climbing fastest in states that have passed laws restricting LGBTQ student rights and education, a Washington Post analysis of FBI data finds.

In states with restrictive laws, the number of hate crimes on K-12 campuses has more than quadrupled since the onset of a divisive culture war that has often centered on the rights of LGBTQ+ youth.

At the same time, calls to LGBTQ+ youth crisis hotlines have exploded, with some advocates drawing a connection between the spike in bullying and hate crimes, and the political climate.

LGBTQ+ students have long dealt with bullying and harassment at school, but some students are feeling particularly vulnerable due to the wave of legislation. They are also on edge following the death of Nex Benedict, a nonbinary teenager who died after a fight in their Oklahoma public school bathroom.

That’s the case for Carden, a transgender 17-year-old. He argues that politicians’ anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric has shaped the views of adults in the conservative Virginia county where he […]

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