New York State currently has an alarming lack of transparency around hate crimes, including who the victims are as well as who is imprisoned for committing such crimes. With your help, we can put an end to the secrecy. 

Having more information is vital for two main reasons: LGBTQ people and other marginalized groups, such as people of color, are victims of hate violence at disproportionate levels, and we are also disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system. And because the most common approach to combating hate crimes is to increase criminal charges, we have a responsibility to explore whether hate crimes penalties end up targeting (rather than protecting) us. But it’s impossible to do this without better data.

We deserve to know the truth about how hate crimes, and the tools used to penalize them, are impacting us. The Hate Crimes Analysis & Review Act would help achieve that by requiring NY to collect data and report on the sexual orientation, gender identity and racial or ethnic identity of victims and alleged perpetrators of hate crimes. 

Thank you for standing with us in the fight for justice for all LGBTQ people.

Trevon Mayers 
Director of Policy & Community Outreach