Number of Hate Groups Rises in Missouri and Across Nation
Tim Sampson, Missouri News Horizon
(Jefferson City, MO) -- The number of hate groups in America is on the rise and Missouri is no exception.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, there were 26 active hate groups in Missouri last year. It's an increase over recent years that they say is prompted by political and economic strife.
The SPLC, which has tracked statistics on hate groups for more than 30 years, found that there were more than 1,018 organization operating in America in 2011 whose ideology is organized against specific racial, religious, sexual or other characteristics. They say the number has risen steadily since 2000 when the number was 602.
Part of the reason for the rise in hate groups has been the increasing acceptance of LGBT individuals in general culture and the increasing number of states approving gay marriage. According to a spokesman for the SPLC, the increased prominence of sexual minorities has given rise to a push back from groups opposing them. The number of antigay groups nationwide has rose from 17 to 27 between 2010 and 2011.
One group that has gained national prominence for their opposition to gay civil rights is the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan. The church, which is unaffiliated with any major BaptistChurch associations, frequently protest the funerals of U.S. servicemen and women as a way to demonstrate their opposition to the country's tolerance of gays and lesbians.
Legislation to ban the WestboroBaptistChurch or any other group from protesting funerals in Missouri was thrown out by the courts over concerns that it would violate free speech rights.
In addition to the increasing number of groups assembled in opposition to gays and lesbians, the SPLC also said the Presidency of Barack Obama and the nation's weak economy have also helped give rise to the number of hate groups motivated by racial intolerance.
"Many Americans are enraged by what they see as America's decline, and opportunistic politicians have done their best to stoke those fears and demonize President Obama in the process," the SPLC report reads. "For some, the prospect of four more years under the country's first black president also is an infuriating reminder that non-Hispanic whites will lose their majority in this country by 2050."