LGBT Reported Hate Crimes In United States Increase 13-Percent In 2010, Marylanders For Marriage Equality Launch New Plan, Early Republican Supporter Of Michele Bachmann Calls Reports Of Husband’s “Gay Cure” Therapy “Disastrous”

An 18 year old gay man from Texas allegedly slain by a high-school classmate who believed his friend was making advances toward him; a 31 year old transgender woman from Pennsylvania found dead with a pillowcase around her head; and a 24 year old lesbian from Florida purportedly killed by her girlfriend’s father, who disapproved of the relationship. The homicides are a sampling of 2010 hate crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people compiled by a national coalition of anti-hate organizations, according to an article in The Los Angeles Times. Released Tuesday, the report reveals a 13-percent increase over 2009 in violent crimes committed against people because of their perceived or actual sexual orientation, gender identity or status as HIV positive, according to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Projects. Last year's homicide count reached 27 -- up from 22 in 2009 and the second-highest number since the coalition began tracking such crimes in 1996. Of those killed, the data show, 70-percent were minorities and 44-percent were transgender women. The attacks also show a higher level of brutality, the report concludes. The trends, said Jake Finney, project manager with the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, one of 43 groups that participate in the coalition, “will not change without raising awareness of this brutality and taking affirmative steps to address transphobia.”Not all the crimes were classified by law enforcement as hate-motivated, in part because some states have no such statute. In other cases, the coalition’s member organizations pushed police to recognize the hate bias. Among those, Finney said, was the case of a transgender man who was attending a Los Angeles area university and was attacked in a campus bathroom. “The attacker used a sharp instrument to carve the word ‘It’ in the victim’s chest, and campus police were not clear that the word 'It' was a slur and indicated anti-transgender bias,” Finney said. “It took a great deal of advocacy to have them classify that incident as a hate crime."

Progressive advocates pledged to dial up the volume in favour of a state same-sex marriage bill after falling a few votes short last session and launched a new group aimed at making Maryland the seventh state to pass the law, The Baltimore Sun reporting that Marylanders for Marriage Equality pulls together a collection of unions, churches and progressive groups. The goal is simple: Show wavering delegates that there exists support for the controversial measure and pick up the handful of new votes needed to pass it in the state's general assembly. The group does not include any surprises (it is comprised of the same organizations that have supported the issue in the past) but gay advocates said the various groups will play more active roles this time generating support in their communities. "We didn't ask for it [support] as much as we should have," said Delegate Maggie McIntosh, a powerful Baltimore Democrat who is openly gay but until recently kept a low profile on the bill. The group was launched during a sweltering news conference in front of Baltimore's City Hall and included remarks from Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake who said she was "grateful" that Baltimore is "ground zero" for the new coalition. Missing was one of Rawlings-Blake's predecessors and a person who many believe has the clout to tip the balance: Governor Martin O'Malley. Members of the coalition have repeatedly asked O'Malley to introduce same-sex marriage as part of his legislative package this year. He has not yet said whether he will do it. In June, after New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed a same-sex bill, O'Malley told The Sun that he would have included the measure in his 2011 legislative package if he thought his name would have helped. And next year? "We'll certainly be looking very seriously at that as we put together our legislative agenda," O'Malley said. The new group includes the Service Employees Union International, the Communication Workers of America, the Human Rights Campaign, Catholics for Equality, the Maryland Black Family Alliance and Pride in Faith, the ACLU and Equality Maryland. McIntosh said they have targeted about half a dozen delegates across the state, including at least one GOP member they think could be persuaded to vote for the measure. But the organization is still coming into focus. There is no single person in charge and there is no staff. Nevertheless opponents of gay marriage are paying attention. An hour after the news conference ended, the Maryland Catholic Conference issued a statement reminding lawmakers that they too have a group, and one with a proven track record. "The coalition that upheld the time honoured tradition of marriage in Maryland remains intact and will continue to be involved," according to a statement from the MCC.

North Kingstown, Rhode Island State Representative Doreen Costa, who had emerged as an early supporter of Republican Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, is calling reports her husband counselled gay conversion through prayer "disastrous,” WPRO reports. "The statements made by her husband were way out of whack", Costa said. She said that she continues to support Bachmann but would consider withdrawing her support of the Congresswoman if more troublesome allegations surfaced.