(WASHINGTON) -- Hate crimes motivated by gender-identity and sexual orientation rose from 2022 to 2023, according to FBI data, sparking concern among LGBTQ advocates about the potential impact of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and legislation.
"Today's abysmal FBI report highlights that it is still dangerous to be LGBTQ+ in this country,” said Brian K. Bond, CEO of LGBTQ advocacy group PFLAG National. “Our LGBTQ+ loved ones need both our compassion and our action to make our communities safe and our laws inclusive, so every LGBTQ+ person can be safe, celebrated, affirmed and loved everywhere in the U.S.”
Though violent crime is down about 3% overall from 2022 to 2023, hate crimes are up across the U.S., according to the FBI's statistics.
Sexual orientation and gender identity were the third and fourth most prevalent bias motivation in 2023, behind race/ethnicity and religion.
The FBI counted 2,936 incidents related to sexual-orientation and gender-identity bias in 2023 – up roughly 8.6% from about 2,700 in 2022.
Sexual orientation, excluding heterosexuality, was the motivation for 2,389 incidents in 2023 – up from about 2,188 in 2022, and about 1,300 in 2021, according to FBI data report.
The FBI report also shows gender identity-based incidents have been on the rise for several years, from 307 offenses in 2021, to 515 in 2022 to 547 in 2023.
“Every lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer person in this country should be free to live their lives without fear that we’ll be the target of a violent incident purely because of who we are and who we love,” said Kelley Robinson, the president of Human Rights Campaign, one of the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organizations.
Sexual orientation and gender identity-based incidents have made up a larger portion of recorded hate crimes as well, respectively making up 18.1% and 4.1% of hate crimes in 2023 compared to 15.7% and 3.6% in 2022.
Research has shown that people in the LGBTQ community have higher rates of hate crime victimization than non-LGBTQ people.
In June 2023, Human Rights Campaign declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the United States, which is still in effect, citing an increasingly hostile environment and the record-breaking wave of legislation impacting the LGBTQ community.
The American Civil Liberties Union is tracking 530 anti-LGBTQ bills and policies in the U.S. in the 2024 legislative session, including transgender care restrictions, school content restrictions, bans on changes to gender markers, and more. The vast majority of them -- 343 bills -- have been defeated.
“As hate targeting LGBTQ people continues to rise, we remain committed to pushing back on the dangerous narratives and extremist groups that are responsible for these attacks,” said GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis in a statement to ABC News. “We must continue to uplift the voices of LGBTQ people and all others impacted by this violence."