Hate crime must be outlawed

Members of Brighton & Hove Green Party have started a petition calling on the prime minister to introduce specific laws to tackle hate crime.

Despite it being 40 years since the decriminalisation of homosexuality, lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people still suffer discrimination on an alarming scale.

In fact LGBT people face a barrage of discrimination – from employers, landlords and, all too often, homophobes.

Four decades after decriminalisation, the time for the government to harmonise hate crimes so that homophobic and transphobic crimes are dealt with on a par with racist crimes is well overdue.

A new law would outlaw the performance, sale, promotion and broadcasting of music and other arts which incite hatred and violence towards any oppressed group.

This petition comes just a few months after a nationwide survey discovered that homophobic bullying in schools is at epidemic levels.

The survey by the Schools Health Education Unit for Stonewall (www.stonewall.org.uk), the charity working for equality for LGBT people, revealed that almost two thirds of lesbian and gay pupils (156,000) have been victims of homophobic bullying.

I suffered from homophobic bullying as a teenager – that was more than 20 years ago and it is outrageous that homophobic attacks continue to damage vulnerable teenagers today.

Therefore I urge everyone to sign this petition and to help bring an end to the homophobic hatred that continues to scar LGBT people’s lives. Visit http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/LGBT-Hate-Crime/