Lexington man’s pride flag was burned. How common are anti-LGBTQ hate crimes in Ky.?
A Lexington man who woke up Monday and discovered his LGBTQ pride flag had been burned said local police are investigating the vandalism as a hate crime.
So what does that mean in Kentucky?
Here’s what you need to know about hate crimes in the commonwealth, the extent of any legal protections for the LGBTQ community and what lawmakers are doing (or not doing) to expand protections.
How many hate crimes are reported in Kentucky?
Hate crime has been on the rise in Kentucky recently – particularly anti-Black hate crime.
In 2020, there was a large spike, with law enforcement agencies reporting more anti-Black hate crimes than they had in any year since 2010.
Data collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation indicate the vast majority fall into the broadly defined category of race/ethnicity/ancestry with 134 cases documented in 2020.
However, bias motivation against a person’s sexual orientation is tied with religion as the second most commonly reported category. Both categories saw 18 cases reported in 2020, the latest year available.
The FBI only documented three Kentucky cases in 2020 where a person was targeted for their gender identity, but hate crimes in general are commonly underreported because of the victim’s marginalized status within a given community.
What protections exist for LGBT Kentuckians?
The federal Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act allows the federal government to prosecute hate crimes, including those based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
State laws may also offer an additional layer of protection, allowing for state and local prosecutors to pursue alleged perpetrators, but laws vary state by state.
Kentucky’s hate crime law includes sexual orientation, but not a person’s gender identity.
According to the FBI, most hate crimes are investigated by local law enforcement agencies and prosecuted by local district attorneys’ offices. However, in some cases hate crimes are investigated and prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice.
What have state lawmakers done to expand protections for LGBTQ individuals?
In early March of this year, a bipartisan group of Louisville-area lawmakers pushed for Senate Bill 275 to strengthen Kentucky’s hate crime laws.
The legislation is a perennial bill born out of a 2018 racially motivated shooting in which two Black people were killed in Louisville.
But with Republican super-majorities in the House and Senate, the bill hasn’t moved and this year appears to have died in the state Senate’s judiciary committee.
This story was originally published March 23, 2022 at 1:51 PM.