This article was written by Peter Freiberg; who is a freelance writer in Hudson, New York. He focuses this article on how, "Gays and lesbians bore the brunt of hate violence in 1994 compared to their relative numbers in society."
             He discusses how hate crimes are plaguing our nation, and how educating the public can prevent further incidents or deaths. To prove to the reader how important this topic is to our society, he introduces his article by explaining a murder case. One evening in San Francisco, two gay men were walking home holding hands. A car stopped next to them and two men confronted the situation. After a few words were exchanged, the driver drove up onto the sidewalk and pinned one of the gay men against the wall while the passenger shot him to death. He begins by capturing the reader's attention with the true sad facts of life.
             There has been an epidemic of hate crimes in our nation, which Freiberg brings to light. A study by the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project said that 2,031 antigay incidents were reported in nine cities during 1993. Many incidents are not reported to the authorities which make those statistics inaccurate.
             The hate crimes which do not kill an individual can have lasting effects that cam traumatize them. Psychologist Anthony D'Augelli is studying the effects that harassment has on young gay people and on their mental health. He surveyed 194 lesbian, gay male, and bisexual youths between 15 and 21 years old. There was evidence that victimization, such as verbal abuse, threats of attack and assaults has delirious effects on mental health. Family support and self esteem are two major factors that contribute to the mental health of an individual. These factors impact how a homosexual individual reacts when confronted with antigay hate crimes. Family support plays an important role because the positive feedback and overall support is essential to a person's ...