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.¹ 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;² the October 2018 shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburg, PA, when a white nationalist killed 11 worshippers and wounded six more;³ the May 2022 shooting at Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, NY, when another white supremacist killed 10 Black people and wounded three more;⁴ 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+.⁵

Guns make hate more deadly.

Disarm Hate: the Deadly Intersection of Guns and Hate-Motivated Violence Fact Sheet

Current federal and state gun laws do not adequately address the problem. While all felonies prohibit gun possession under federal law,¹ most misdemeanors, including hate crime misdemeanors, do not—even though hate crimes involving firearms were the catalyst for hate crime laws in the United States. Hate crime misdemeanors can be serious, violent acts, but under federal law, a violent or threatening hate crime misdemeanor conviction does not prohibit gun possession. While some states and Washington, DC, have laws closing this gap, many states have not taken action. This means that in parts of the country a person convicted of a violent hate crime could legally pass a background check and buy a gun.

By the numbers

25k+

In an average year, more than 25,000 hate crimes in the U.S. involve a firearm–more than 69 every day.

stat

3/4

3 out of 4 homicides of transgender or gender expansive people are with a gun.

stat

60%

60 percent of violent hate crime victimizations from 2015 to 2019 were believed to be motivated by bias against race, ethnicity, or national origin.

stat

Which states prohibit people with hate crime convictions from having firearms?

25 states have adopted this policy

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.
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.
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

Remembering and Honoring Pulse: Anti-LGBTQ Bias and Guns are Taking the Lives of Countless LGBTQ+ People

On June 12, 2016, a man fatally shot 49 people and wounded 58 more at Pulse, an LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando, FL.

Fact Sheet

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.

Fact Sheet

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.

Report

Collage of images of the Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, NY and images from online communities and videos

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.

Report

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.

Report

Hate Crimes

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

A black-and-white image close-up of a person's torso and hand holding a firearm resembling a rifle. This image is overlaid with a line chart in white, orange, and purple and with a pie chart in shades of light and dark blue.

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.

Report

Recordando 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

A person wearing a hoodie is typing at their computer. On the screen are blurred screenshots from 4chan

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 Sheet

El 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 Sheet

Armed 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

Members of the Last Sons of Liberty, of the Boogaloo Movement attend a second amendment rally during Lobby Day at the Virginia State Capitol on January 18, 2021 in Richmond, Virginia.

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

Pro-Trump protesters, including Proud Boys like Joe Biggs (in gray plaid, center) gather in front of the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC.

The Dangers of Shooting First: “Stand Your Ground” Laws Are a License to Kill

For centuries, self-defense laws have given people the right to protect themselves. Shoot First laws, also known as Stand Your Ground laws, go beyond these…

Report

Yellow crime scene caution tape that reads

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

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Hate Crimes

What is the problem?

Why is it an issue?

Guns make hate more deadly.

By the numbers

In an average year, more than 25,000 hate crimes in the U.S. involve a firearm–more than 69 every day.

3 out of 4 homicides of transgender or gender expansive people are with a gun.

60 percent of violent hate crime victimizations from 2015 to 2019 were believed to be motivated by bias against race, ethnicity, or national origin.

Which states prohibit people with hate crime convictions from having firearms?

25 states have adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Alabama has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Alaska has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Arizona has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Arkansas has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

California has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Colorado has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Connecticut has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Delaware has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Florida has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Georgia has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Hawaii has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Idaho has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Illinois has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Indiana has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Iowa has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Kansas has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Kentucky has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Louisiana has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Maine has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Maryland has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Massachusetts has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Michigan has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Minnesota has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Mississippi has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Missouri has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Montana has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Nebraska has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Nevada has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

New Hampshire has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

New Jersey has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

New Mexico has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

New York has adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

North Carolina has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

North Dakota has not adopted this policy

Hate Crime Prohibitor

Ohio has not adopted this policy