The murder of Mark Carson Friday night was the fifth — not third, as far too many mainstream media outlets and others are reporting — incidence of violent anti-gay hate crimes in New York City in just twelve days — less than two weeks. In a world where facts are all too fluid, this is one fact that the media, reporters, bloggers, and pundits need to get right — right now.
Over the past 48 hours I have had to reach out to several mainstream media outlets to correct them. Some have very graciously responded and corrected the record.
“The murder is at least the 22nd anti-gay attack in the city so far this year, police said. Anti-gay attacks are up an alarming 77 percent from 13 such assaults during the same period last year,” the New York Post reported Sunday morning.
LOOK: 100′s Attend Vigil For Mark Carson, Gay Man Shot Dead In NYC’s Greenwich Village
Getting the numbers right matters — not just because by under-reporting violence we minimize its impact, and not just because each of the victims deserves to have their crime brought to the attention of the public and the criminal brought to justice, but because apparently it’s now open season on LGBT people in New York City — home to the birth of the modern gay civil rights movement — and this crime wave won’t stop until its magnitude is recognized, forcing our politicians and police to actually do more than pay lip service to the violence.
For the record, here is the list of violent anti-LGBT hate crimes — confirmed by New York State Senator Brad Hoylman and also by New York City’s Anti-Violence Project:
May 5:
Four men allegedly shouted anti-gay slurs as they attacked Nick Porto and Kevin Atkins near Madison Square Garden.
May 7:
A man was assaulted in Union Square by another man who allegedly used anti-gay slurs.
May 8:
Two men reportedly shouted anti-gay slurs as they attacked a man who was leaving Pieces bar on Christopher Street
May 9:
Two gay men were attacked by a group of other men allegedly shouting anti-gay slurs near the 33rd Street PATH Station. Port Authority police officers quickly arrested two of the suspected perpetrators.
May 17:
A gay man, Mark Carson, was shot to death by another man who allegedly assailed the victim and another gay man with homophobic slurs and chased them out of a pizzeria on Sixth Avenue in Greenwich Village before the shooting.
If we’ve missed any — please contact us.
NYC Anti-Violence Project issues Community Alert
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Image by lindsayminerva via Instagram
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Related:
Some Blaming Race, Immigration, Diversity For Anti-Gay Hate Crime Murder Of Mark Carson
NYC Hate Crime Murder: Gay Man Shot To Death After Gunman Hurls Homophobic Slurs