Hate crimes drop
by 60% in Colorado

Hate crimes against members of Colorado's LGBT community dropped by an astounding 60% last year, according to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs. Of the 13 cities and states tracked by the coalition, Colorado's was the biggest drop; the group reports that violence and harassment against gays fell nationally by almost 13%. However, coalition members say the encouraging stats might not be entirely accurate. The Denver-based Colorado Anti-Violence Program says the reduction in reports of antigay bias could just mean fewer incidents are being reported. Program spokeswoman Veronica Garcia told The [Colorado Springs] Gazette, "For a lot of people it's unsafe to even identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender," adding, "We're definitely cautious in getting too excited about a drop in numbers." (Sirius OutQ News)