The Nation - News from June 8, 1988

Fueled by fear of AIDS, reported attacks and harassment against gays increased dramatically last year to a new high of more than 7,000 cases nationwide, and California reported the most assaults, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the nation’s largest gay and lesbian rights group, said in reporting on a study of the problem. Gay rights groups in 32 states that participated in the survey reported 7,008 incidents of violence or harassment last year in which anti-gay prejudice appeared to be a “motivating factor.” That compared with 4,946 such cases in 1986. North Carolina reported the most incidents, 1,985, followed by California with 561, but California’s report of 317 assaults was the most in that category. In Los Angeles, task force officials said, gays reported 126 harassment incidents that included two homicides, 74 assaults and two bomb threats.