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A Love-Hate Relationship: The Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage and the Number of Reported Anti-LGBT+ Hate Crimes in the United States

Thesis advisor: Geoffrey Sanzenbacher / Oddly, as acceptance of LGBT+ individuals continues to rise in the United States, the number of reported anti-LGBT+ hate crimes also rises (McCarthy 2022, Author’s calculations from Uniform Crime Reporting data). Could this be the result of a violent backlash against the legalization of same-sex marriage? This paper investigates this love-hate relationship using data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics’s Uniform Crime Reporting system. Utilizing a collection of difference-in- differences regressions, this analysis compares the number of reported anti-LGBT+ hate crimes in a state before and after that state’s legalization of same sex marriage. The results suggest that states have a higher number of reported hate crimes per month after their legalization of same-sex marriage when controlling for population. A placebo regression shows that this effect is not found with other kinds of hate crimes. Two potential explanations for this finding are explored: firstly, that reporting of anti-LGBT+ hate crimes in a state becomes more reliable after that state’s legalization of same-sex marriage or, alternatively, that the number of hate crimes committed against LGBT+ individuals rises. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2023. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Economics.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:BOSTON/oai:dlib.bc.edu:bc-ir_109723
Date January 2023
CreatorsGarrett, Katherine R.
PublisherBoston College
Source SetsBoston College
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeText, thesis
Formatelectronic, application/pdf
RightsCopyright is held by the author, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted.

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