Gay Hate Crimes in and around Boulder (Denver: appointed, crime)

[MaddieClaire]

I'm really surprised at the Hate Crimes against Gays in and around the Boulder area.
I thought Boulder was more of a free spirited area that accepted everyone with open arms....
Is the entire Denver area anti-gay?

[TinajaCo]

Hate crimes..... as opposed to those done out of love, eh?

Seriously, though, in my opinion Boulder prides itself on faux tolerance. There is a lot of hypocrisy in the actions of many there-- they're tolerant, so long as you agree with them. But I think the trouble stems more from CU students than the population at large. I think most would agree that Boulder is rarely a reflection of Denver or Colorado (or reality, for that matter)....

[tfox]

I don't see this kind of hate crime as representative of Boulder or Colorado for that matter. CU's student population comes from all over the country and due to its reputation as a party school, you're bound to get a few rowdy 18-year-old troublemakers. Not to minimize their crimes by any means, but just to say that I don't think that this really reflects on Boulder at all.

[Micktooth]

I think the hate crimes are terrible, but I don't think you should judge an entire community on the actions of some college kids at 1am. There are no excuses for what happened, but compared to other places where I lived(NY,TX,LA,MI) I find the Denver/Boulder area to be most tolerant. Unfortunately in today's society, disgusting and terrible events can happen just about anywhere.

[webster]

Only 24 states and DC include sexual orientation as falling under the category of hate crimes. Colorado's hate crime laws do not include sexual orientation so there are no reliable numbers. Nationwide, in 2004 16% of all hate crimes reported were due to sexual orientation. Chicago saw a 75% increase in 2003and it is a very gay friendly city. My point is that it is everywhere, under reported, yet I find Denver gay friendly to the extent that you can see gay couples holding hands walking and the police recruiting at Pride events. I was disappointed to see that Colorado has not included sexual orientation in its hate crime legislation.

[midwest456]

Denver proper has a gay friendly reputation...there is some trouble anywhere but remember that gaybashers aren't necessarily local residents where they commit crimes. My guess is that bashers drive in from elsewhere into the gay neighborhoods because it's easier to find gay targets there. The state's laws probably will become more progay over the next two years as the Democrats have full control of state govt for the first time in decades.

[brikag]

To find out about your home state and/or others, check out HRC.org. Click on "Your Community", click onto the respective state, and then click onto "View Current Laws."

I hope this helps.