they still probably have not told their parents, co-workers or other important figures in their lives. It is easy for a criminal to get away with a crime that will never be reported. If the victims knew that gay bashing is one of the most brutal hate crimes, I think they would speak up. Rarely are gay victims just simply killed. They are brutally murdered by multiple stabs, torture, and mutilation (Altshiller 17).
             The kind of people who commit these brutal crimes are largely male, and in groups. Most anti-gay violence arises out of male groups most likely proving their daring, or manliness (Herek and Berill 29). Women are very rarely a part of these bashing incidents, but sometimes are onlookers. They watch as their boyfriends act out their homophobia to a criminal level. In some homophobic circles, it is status to assault a homosexual. They gain status and recognition amongst their peers. These circles are immature men who feel the need to validate their manhood by violence. Fifty-four percent of these men are under 21 (Herek and Berill 27).
             Other major groups that target gays are the Ku Klux Klan and Neo-Nazis. These groups may be divided in their tactics but agree on who their enemies are: Gays, like blacks or Jews, are categorically hated. The skinheads are by far the most numerous and brutal of all hate groups documented (Herek and Berill 31). The skinheads attack in larger groups, normally beating their victim to near death. While most gay bashes happen to strangers, the skinheads target their victims. Sometimes even conducting anti-gay "sting" operations where one skinhead goes undercover as a gay lures the victim to a predisposed spot where a large group ambushes them.
             Anti-gay violence is often viewed only as a random street crime, but it also occurs in other settings. It can happen in schools, colleges,
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