Discrimination Against LGBTQ People by Law Enforcement

Historically, police forces targeted the LGBTQ community through the use of sodomy laws, bar raids, entrapment, selective arrests, and excessive physical violence and harassment, especially toward particularly vulnerable groups within the LGBTQ community. These historical problems continue to manifest in some form in the present day despite changes in laws and policies to become more protective of LGBTQ people. The evidence of ongoing mistreatment of the LGBTQ community by police indicates the need for additional interventions to further protect LGBTQ people in the law enforcement context.

Sodomy Laws

Prior to 1961, every U.S. state had criminalized certain types of sexual behavior through sodomy laws. Sodomy laws resulted in numerous arrests and convictions of LGBTQ people, as well as other secondary consequences including job loss, denial of state ...

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