ADL Deeply Concerned About Recent Anti-LGBT Hate Crimes in the District
WASHINGTON, March 16, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) expressed deep concern over recent reports of alleged attacks against gay and transgendered individuals in the District.
According to an article published in the Washington Blade on March 14, 2012, two separate attacks on gay victims took place over a two day period, March 11-12, 2012. In the first attack in Columbia Heights the victim was reported to have been shot by suspects who were alleged to have used homophobic epithets. The second alleged attack took place on March 12, 2012, when a man walking home was reportedly assaulted and taunted with anti-gay slurs.
"We are particularly concerned about the violence involved in these reported attacks on members of the LGBT community," said David C. Friedman, ADL Regional Director. "The use of a firearm in the commission of a hate crime is extremely rare in the District of Columbia and is extremely troubling."
"Hate crimes deserve priority attention because they impact the entire community," Mr. Friedman continued. "Perpetrators of hate crimes send a message to their victims, and everyone else who shares the victim's characteristics, that they are not welcome or safe. The Anti-Defamation League wants those in the LGBT community to know that we stand with them in the fight against these crimes."
Hate crime statutes have been adopted by 45 states and the District of Columbia. Many of those laws are based on a model statue crafted by the ADL, which has long been in the forefront of national and state efforts to deter and counteract hate-motivated criminal activity.
The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.
SOURCE Anti-Defamation League
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