The survey reported 2,445 documented anti-gay attacks, a 2 percent increase over 1996, and 18 murders in 1997. The survey documented 14 areas across the United States, including New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Researchers worry that the increase in attacks is the result of increased publicity of homosexuals through coverage of the Atlanta bombing of a gay nightclub and the popular TV show Ellen. Gay Men and Lesbians Opposing Violence, a D.C. group, issued their own report documenting 86 hate crimes in 1997, a 25 percent increase over 69 attacks in 1996.
GLOV officials claim that the figures probably represent only a portion of actual attacks.
People who are closeted are very unlikely to report anti-gay harassment or violence. Legislators Propose Contraception Insurance Coverage Members of Connecticut s state legislature are proposing a bill that would require all insurance companies to cover the cost of prescription birth control. Currently, half of all insurance companies in the United States deny payment for contraception. The proposal would require major plans to pay for birth control pills, intrauterine devices, diaphragms, Norplant and Depo Provera. State Sen. Adela Eads, the Republican minority leader in the Senate, said It is time to treat the medical needs of women and men equally.