History of violence against LGBT people in the United States

The history of violence against LGBT people in the United States is made up of assaults on gay men, lesbians, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex individuals (LGBTQI), legal responses to such violence, and hate crime statistics in the United States of America. Those targeted by such violence are perceived to violate heteronormative rules and contravene perceived protocols of gender and sexual roles. People who are perceived to be LGBTQI may also be targeted.

A hate crime is simply defined as when individuals become victimized because of their race, ethnicity, religion, or gender. Hate crimes against LGBTQI people often occur because the perpetrators are homophobic or transphobic. Violence targeted at people because of their perceived sexuality can be psychological and physical up to and including murder. These actions may be caused by cultural, religious, or political mores and biases.

In 2014, the FBI reported that 20.8% of hate crimes reported to police in 2013 were founded on perceived sexual orientation. 61% of those attacks were against gay men. Additionally, 0.5% of all hate crimes were based on perceived gender identity. In 2004, the FBI reported that 14% of hate crimes due to perceived sexual orientation were against lesbians, 2% against heterosexuals and 1% against bisexuals.

The FBI reported that for 2006, hate crimes against gay people increased from 14% to 16% in 2005, as percentage of total documented hate crimes across the U.S. The 2006 annual report, released on November 19, 2007, also said that hate crimes based on sexual orientation are the third most common type, behind race and religion. In 2008, 17.6% of hate crimes were based on the victim's perceived sexual orientation. Of those crimes, 72.23% were violent in nature. 4,704 crimes were committed due to racial bias and 1,617 were committed due to sexual orientation. Of these, only one murder and one forcible rape were committed due to racial bias, whereas five murders and six rapes were committed based on sexual orientation.

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