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The surge in hate coincides with a record number of bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community in the Lone Star state.
LGBTQ+ advocates in Texas reported a surge in reported hate crime incidents across the state in 2023, local NBC affiliate KXAN reported. Even the progressive city of Austin reported an increase over previous years.
Chloe Goodman, constituent service manager of the advocacy group Equality Texas, told KXAN their organization fielded a little under 13 reported cases per month on average in 2022. The number jumped to 25.9 average cases per month one year later.
“We generally see an uptick around Pride just because we’re more visible and have more going on,” they said.
Goodman said many of last year’s cases came from schools in the state and referenced the bullying of students because of their identities and beliefs as well as hate directed at both students and educators.
Goodman revealed Equality Texas saw “a spike of 46 cases in September, which coincides with a return to school.”
Perhaps not coincidentally, Texas Republican lawmakers filed a record 141 bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community last year. Goodman noted many of those bills took direct aim at public schools.
A recent study found that 48 percent of LGBTQ+ of surveyed educators have considered moving to another state to avoid because of anti-LGBTQ+ laws forced upon their schools, with 20 percent actively planning to relocate. Another 36 percent are considering leaving academia altogether.
Even the progressive state capital of Austin was not immune to the uptick in reported hate crimes. The city went from a low of 12 in 2019 to a high of 51 in 2023.
