Civil Rights
Do hate-crime laws really protect the LGBT community?
We recently saw some of the quickest and most efficient action I’ve seen in a while when Philadelphia’s City Council unanimously voted (17-0) to pass an ordinance that imposes punishments for violent attacks based on gender identity, sexual orientation or disability status. Mayor Michael Nutter summarily signed it into law. The measure was in response to the vicious antigay attack perpetrated this past fall, when as many as 15 people physically assaulted a gay couple in Rittenhouse, hurling antigay slurs. (more…)