Atlanta sees 17 anti-gay bias crimes this year
According to records provided by the Atlanta Police Department, the attack in Piedmont Park is one of 17 incidents to have taken place so far this year that’s been categorized as bias-related specifically against members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered, or LGBT, community. Because Georgia has the dubious distinction of being one of just five states without hate crime legislation on the books, when a victim of crime is targeted based on their race, color, creed, or sexual orientation or identification, the Atlanta Police Department can classify the act only as a “bias crime.” The phrase doesn’t carry quite the same gravitas as “hate crime,” nor is it accompanied by the same threat of additional penalty in the state’s court system. Classifying crimes as bias-related basically allows the APD to keep stats on the phenomenon and gives police the option of forwarding the case to the Justice Department for prosecution under federal hate crimes legislation, should it meet certain requirements.