Las Vegas NowHate Crimes Based on Sexual Orientation on the Rise

Hate Crimes Based on Sexual Orientation on the Rise

Hate crimes are down in this country. Fewer people are being attacked because of their race, ethnicity or religion. But crimes because of sexual orientation are up six-percent nationwide.

While the trend in Las Vegas is down, victims say any crime is one too many.

It's been nearly a year since Thomas Lahey says he was attacked by a group of men while outside a local gay club, "We were in the bathroom and they came in shortly after me and my partner. We were on our way to a party. They came in next thing I know I was on the ground and unconscious."

He talked to Eyewitness News after his attack last year, and the pictures showed how severe the crime was.

He says the national numbers showing an increase in gender hate crimes needs to be a wake up call for everyone, "I never thought it actually happened, but when you are put in that place and are a victim of a hate crime, it's almost a hit to your ego that someone would do this to you be because of who you are."

Candace Nichols with the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada reaches out to the victims of hate crimes. She says she's seen a shift in tolerance here in the valley.

"I think it's changed a lot especially here in our community. I think there is a lot more acceptance in our community for difference but it's not the same everywhere," she said.

While FBI numbers support what she is noticing in the valley, she feels there's still more work to be done, "It's people's fear based that they don't understand it. They think it's all about sex, but it's really about who we choose to live our life with."

Lives that can change, if victimized, "Every time I get into an elevator with people, if I'm not by myself, I make sure I'm with a friend. When I go to the bathroom, I always make sure someone is with me, and that's not something I used to do."

Overall, the FBI reported more than 7,600 hate crimes, down about one-percent from last year. Racially motivated hate crimes accounted for more than half of the total, followed by religious bias.

Six agencies in Nevada provided the numbers for the FBI, including Metro, North Las Vegas Police and agencies up in Reno.