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Hate Crime

I admit that I don't really get news from very traditional sources - usually things like Ekklesia, the Daily Show, Radio 1, and sometimes Radio 4. But how the hell did I miss that a gay man was attacked and killed in Trafalgar Square in central London in a homophobic attack? Have I just been watching the Simpsons rather than the 6 o' clock news and missed it or has this been under-reported?

It was only when I was looking at the new Lesbian and Gay Chrisrian Movement website that I heard about this.

There's a vigil happening in London, almost as I type this. So I'll virtually stand in solitaridy against hate crimes.

Comments

home staging said…
To be honest I will never understand, how sick the person has to be to conceive the idea of killing a human being just because of a homosexual orientation. How is it anyone's business, when someone likes people of the same sex? I think those people are seriously hung up and perhaps not very well educated, if they are capable of doing such a condemnable act. Ella
8:19 pm
Anonymous said…
As you used the words 'hate crime, would you like to react to the article at :-http://www.christian.org.uk/news/c4-news-calls-pauline-howes-letter-a-crime/

this concerns the murder you mention and another incident - do you consider both to be 'hate crimes' and what is your definition of the phrase you use ?
10:44 pm
Stephen Lingwood said…
Annoymous,

I assume there's a legal definition of a "hate crime" and I'm not an expert to give that definition, but I assume it involves violence against people or property motivated by hatred towards a particular group of people.

I interpreted the Channel 4 piece to be contrasting murder with a letter as very different things that have been investigated by the police as hate crimes. But I suppose it could have been misleading.

I don't know the details of this letter, but as a liberal I certainly agree that it should not be a crime to express an opinion unless that is inciting violence or murder.
11:34 am
Yewtree said…
It was on Pink News.

Unfortunately there is a rise in homophobic hate crime at the moment, it appears.

How it could happen in Trafalgar Square, which one would assume is well lit and frequented by a lot of people, seems bizarre.

It is horrific.
10:25 am
max said…
Hate crimes that are towards the mere fact of being a homosexual are horrific. These people just have different opinions and liking of the same sex. I will never understand why people take so much offense and effort to "eliminate" these people, both being humans. They don't "bother" anyone just because they've fallen in love with the same gender. These hate crimes are absolutely ridiculous and hopefully one day this world will realize that we're all just people who relate to each other more than we know, and need to get over this fact of being "different" because of your sexuality.
2:24 pm
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