Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons^™

Anti-Lgb Hate Crimes: Political Threat Or Political Legitimization?, Johanna R. Shreve

Dissertations and Theses

While activists and others have argued that the legitimization of biased attitudes and stereotypes by political leaders foments violence against minority groups, criminological research in the U.S. has focused more on "threat" hypotheses that view hate crime as a retaliatory response to perceived gains or encroachment of targeted groups. Another view suggests that heightened public visibility of hate crimes or other bias issues, usually in the form of media coverage, increases hate crimes. This study compares the effect on anti-LGB crimes of events representing political threat (a court decision legalizing marriage equality) and political legitimization of bias (passage of a …