Gun Violence And Hate Crimes

After the June 2016 mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, the public’s focus has been on gun control to prevent other massacres like this one, when 49 people, most of them Latino gay men were killed. Gun violence, and mass shooting like this one are not unavoidable natural disasters, but predictable outcomes of laws that lacks regulation. The personal characteristics most targeted for hate crimes are race, religion and sexual orientation. The LGBTQ population is familiar to gun violence and hate crimes; they are more likely to be the targets of violence than other groups protected by federal hate crime laws (Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs, 2017). Therefore, current law policies allow for an increased risk of

According to Meyer (2008), many people, because of the intersection with race and sexual orientation, find it difficult to determine whether the violence is rooted in homophobia, racism, or both. When LGBTQ people of color experience violence, many aspects of their identity is being attacked. Most of the volence experienced by that LGBTQ people of color encounter is simultaneusly racist, misogynistic, and homophobic. The difference in experience between people of color and white individuals of the LGBTQ commuinty, can be understood by addressing the social construction of white privilege. Barbara Perry, hate crime scholar, argues that hate motivated violence is a social control mechanism rooted in institutional power structures. Perry explained hate crime as an outgrowth of systems of oppression as it is a way to maintain social hierarchies. For instance anti-LGBT violence reinforces the the cultural devaluation of homosexualidty (Perry,

As we discussed in class, reducing social inequalities in society will reduce crime. If such thing does not happen, minorities will continue to be labeled as deviant and be victim of hate crimes. Ending discrimination and securing greater equality for people of color, women, and LGBTQ people is ultimately the best way to dismantle the inextricable link there is between gun culture and systems of power. Social class in fact also affects how LGBTQ individuals experience violence bases on their sexual orientation. Individuals with a lower income are less likely to address violence that individual with middle to upper income. Poverty, as Meyer (2008) points out, hinders individual to discuss the violence experience bases on their sexuality or gender identity.

In conclusion, gun violence is a complex problem in need of a solution. Learning and teaching about gun violence is important: gun control measures should be seen as means of improving public health. In order of lowering the occurrence of gun violence, multiple social institutions, including government, economy, education, health care, and justice systems, will require intervention. Increasing the availability of data and funding will also help inform and evaluate policies designed to reduce gun