In Atlanta, Boston, Columbus, Detroit, New York, San Francisco and Washington, DC, local organizations will release the report along with particular information relevant to violence within their own communities. Despite a significant decline in non-hate violent crime in America, anti-gay violence continues to rise.

A drastic increase of anti-gay violence at the hands of law enforcement officers is just one of the deeply troubling trends identified. "It is extremely disturbing that more and more people are suffering homophobic violence at the hands of the police, the very people who are entrusted with ensuring the safety of all citizens," said Jeffrey Montgomery of Detroit's Triangle Foundation, a member of the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP).

A dramatic rise in attacks on heterosexuals perceived as being gay is also noteworthy. "This underscores the fact that hate crimes are crimes of perception. Victims are chosen not necessarily because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or HIV positive, but because the perpetrator perceives them to be," said New York City Gay & Lesbian Anti-Violence Project (GLOV) Executive Director Christine Quinn. "No one is safe from hate crimes. It is in everyone's interest to stop this epidemic of hate."

For more information contact NCAVP spokespeople Jeff Montgomery at (313) 537-3323 or Christine Quinn at (212) 807-6761.

NEW STUDY SHOWS MORE "THOUSAND POINTS OF LIGHT" ARE GAY:

A study released March 2 by the Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies (IGLSS) on gay giving to non-profit organizations indicates that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people volunteer much more time to non-profit organizations than do heterosexuals.

The study, the first of its kind, surveyed over 2,300 people in Milwaukee, Philadelphia and San Francisco and found that members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people volunteer 61 percent more time (29 hours/week) to non-profits than do straight people (18 hours/week). In addition, the study reveals that gay people divide charitable contributions almost equally between gay and non-gay causes.

For more information contact Lee Badgett (IGLSS) at (413) 577-0145 or (413) 545-0159.

Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) glaad@glaad.org

TO REPORT DEFAMATION IN THE MEDIA - Call GLAAD's Alertline at 1.800.GAY.MEDIA or go to the GLAAD Web Site at www.glaad.org and report through our Alertline Online.