Hate Crimes
Hate Crimes
What is the problem?
In an average year, more than 25,000 hate crimes in the US involve a firearm—69 a day. Easy access to guns gives a single, hate-filled individual the means to shatter numerous lives and whole communities.
The vast majority of reported hate crimes are directed against communities of color, religious minorities, and LGBTQ+ people.1Federal Bureau of Investigation, “Crime Data Explorer: Hate Crime in the United States,” accessed January 13, 2022, https://bit.ly/3Gsb3v1. These hate crimes can become deadly when firearms are involved. Easy access to firearms gives a hate-filled individual the opportunity to shatter numerous lives and whole communities, as evidenced by the June 2015 shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, SC, when a white supremacist opened fire in a church, killing nine Black worshippers;2Jason Horowitz, Nick Corasaniti, and Ashley Southall, “Nine Killed in Shooting at Black Church in Charleston,” New York Times, June 17, 2015, https://nyti.ms/2uGcqDb. the October 2018 shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburg, PA, when a white nationalist killed 11 worshippers and wounded six more;3Campbell Robertson, Christopher Mele, and Sabrina Tavernise, “11 Killed in Synagogue Massacre; Suspect Charged With 29 Counts,” New York Times, October 27, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/27/us/active-shooter-pittsburgh-synagogue-shooting.html. the May 2022 shooting at Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, NY, when another white supremacist killed 10 Black people and wounded three more;4Mary B. Pasciak, “Tops Markets Shooter Chose AR-15 to Stoke Controversy,” Buffalo News, July 14, 2022, https://bit.ly/3PNO9DC; Craig Whitlock, David Willman, and Alex Horton, “Massacre Suspect Said He Modified Bushmaster Rifle to Hold More Ammunition,“ Washington Post, May 15, 2022, https://wapo.st/3SkEe8N. and the November 2022 shooting at Club Q, a LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs, CO, when a gunman shot at least 22 people, five fatally, many of whom identified as LGBTQ+.5Colorado Springs Police Department, “Update to Shooting at Club Q – Victim Update,” November 28, 2022, https://bit.ly/3WfKP7u; Debbie Kelley, “5 Victims in Club Q Mass Shooting Identified, as Mourning Continues Around Colorado Springs,” The Gazette, January 24, 2023, https://bit.ly/3MP058B.
What are the solutions?
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Disarm Hate
Guns and hate are a fatal combination. In parts of the US, some people convicted of hate crimes can still legally buy and have guns. Congress and state legislatures should pass laws that keep guns out of the hands of those who have been convicted of hate crimes.
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Extreme Risk Laws
When a person is in crisis and considering harming themselves or others, family members and law enforcement are often the first people to see the warning signs. Extreme Risk laws, sometimes referred to as “Red Flag” laws, allow loved ones or law enforcement to intervene by petitioning a court for an order to temporarily prevent someone in crisis from accessing guns.
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Prohibit Open Carry
Carrying firearms visibly in public, known as open carry, is a dangerous policy. It is exploited by white supremacists and opposed by law enforcement and the public. Members of hate groups regularly openly carry guns in a show of intimidation.
Featured Resources
How Guns Fuel Violence Against Transgender People in America
Black trans women are bearing the brunt of a crisis of gun violence, often at the hands of perpetrators who are prohibited from owning guns.
Armed Extremism in Buffalo: Online Gun Communities Provide a Path of Radicalization and Training to a Racist Shooter
The Buffalo, NY mass shooting in May 2022 at Tops Friendly Market was an act of white supremacist, hate-motivated violence.
Armed and Dangerous: How the Gun Lobby Enshrines Guns as Tools of the Extreme Right
For decades, the gun lobby has enabled extremists to access guns through its opposition of common sense gun laws.
Disarm Hate: the Deadly Intersection of Guns and Hate-Motivated Violence
Easy access to firearms gives a hate-filled individual the means to shatter numerous lives and whole communities.
All Resources
Hate Crimes
All Resources
Paranoia and Profit: Armed Extremism and the Gun Industry’s Role in Fostering It
Meanwhile, the industry works with its political allies to make these weapons available to anyone, anywhere, at any time, demonizing those who want to keep…
Report
The Relationship Between Firearms, Mass Shootings and Suicide Risk among LGBTQ+ Young People
One in five LGBTQ+ young people report they or someone they know has been personally impacted by a mass shooting.
Report
Freedom from Fear of Hate-Fueled Violence: Preventing Transgender Homicides
The statistics make it clear: violence against transgender people is a gun violence issue.
ReportRecordando y honrando a Pulse: El sesgo anti-LGBTQ+ y las armas están acabando con la vida de innumerables personas LGBTQ+
Pulse es un recordatorio del trabajo que queda por hacer para poner fin a los actos de violencia con armas de fuego.
Fact Sheet
Armed Extremism Primer: Oath Keepers
The Oath Keepers organize around conspiracy theories and propaganda about the reasonable regulation of firearms.
Fact Sheet
Misogyny, Extremism, and Gun Violence
The impact of violent misogyny, combined with the unique harm of violence involving guns, makes addressing it an urgent issue.
Report
The Impact of Gun Violence on Latinx Communities
Latinx people in the United States are dying from gun violence every day and at rates disproportionate to their white peers.
Fact SheetEl impacto de la violencia con armas de fuego en las comunidades latines
Las personas latines en los EE UU mueren a causa de la violencia armada en tasas desproporcionadas con respecto a los blancos.
Fact SheetArmed Extremism Primer: The Boogaloo
The boogaloo movement has risen to national prominence as a new and dangerous subset of the extreme right in the United States.
Fact Sheet
More Than Brawlers: The Proud Boys and Armed Extremism
Many far-right groups, including the Proud Boys, use fearmongering and conspiracy theories in an attempt to stop any reform of gun laws.
Fact Sheet
A License to Kill: Shoot First Laws, also known as Stand Your Ground
Shoot First laws distort the public perception of lawful self-defense and encourage people to shoot first and ask questions later.
Fact Sheet
Remembering and Honoring Pulse: Anti-LGBTQ+ Bias and Guns are Taking the Lives of Countless LGBTQ+ People
Pulse is a reminder of the work that remains to end the acts of gun violence that wound and kill LGBTQ+ Americans today.
Fact Sheet
Assault Weapons and High-Capacity Magazines
Many of the deadliest mass shootings in the United States have been carried out with assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
Fact Sheet