j u s t o u t ▼ a p rii 4 . 1 0 9 7 ▼ 7 many of the tracking cities. For instance, in New York City anti-gay bias crimes have decreased 2 percent since 1993, but violent crime overall de­ creased 39 percent during the same period. Anti- queer violence peaked during the months of May and June, when most pride celebrations occur. Federal hate crime statutes do not presently allow for prosecution of offenses motivated by a victim’s sexual orientation, but the 1994 Victims of Crime Act, which secured federal funds for anti-violence organizations across the country, permits longer sentences in cases where anti-gay bias is a factor. Although crimes against bisexuals and transgendered people have been included in past reports, this is the first year the words appear in the document’s title. In related news, a coalition of bisexual and transgender activists recently won the support of several major sexual minority organizations in its efforts to expand the Hate Crimes Statistics Act of 1990, which requires the FBI to track bias-motivated crimes, to include crimes targeting transgendered and bisexual people. Pro-active measure faces tough audience Hands Off Washington, an organization dedi­ cated to fighting legislation that limits or denies the civil rights of any citizen of that state, has begun collecting signatures for Initiative 677, a measure to ban em­ W ashington Citizens tof Fairness ployment discrimi­ nation based on sexual orientation. Backers have until July 3 to gather 179,248 signatures in support of their Washington Tilt- H a n d - Of* .Va-M ;..:t s Prcvcr proposal, in order to P.O. Box 4828 get the issue on the Seattle, WA 98104 November ballot. Although the thrust of 1677 is a ban on job discrimination, according to the Tacoma Morning News Tribune, the initiative contains a proviso that employers would not be required to give benefits to the partners of their employees. Laurie Jinkins, Hands Off Washington board president, explained, "We wanted to make it clear that there weren’t any other issues in here.... It’s not about marriage. It’s not about benefits. It’s just about employment discrimination.” The initiative faces a big challenge, mean­ while, to overcome the negativity generated in the wake of recent successful efforts by conservative state legislators to ban same-gender marriage. Gov. Gary Locke vetoed the measure, and the Senate failed to override the veto. Now the bill’s chief sponsor. Rep. Bill Thompson (R-Everett) is lining up votes to bypass the governor and send the question to voters during a special June 3 election to decide on funding for a new football stadium. Rep. Ed Murray (D-Seattle) wants to defeat the anti-marriage measure and said he believes he and his colleagues have enough votes to keep it from reaching the ballot, but he admits that some of those votes might have been lost since House Speaker Clyde Ballard (R-East Wenatchee) threw his weight behind the ban. HANDS