Another reason to never grow up.
Gay Bashing

The statistics are scary. It is facts such as these that keep people from coming out and, even worse, force people back into the closet.
Just imagine kissing a loved one good night in public and turning around to face a bat racing towards your skull.
The thought of being beaten-up because of my identity is reminiscent of middle school feelings minus one exception. While in school a skinny foreign kid, such as me, feared getting tormented but never killed or seriously harmed. Adults, have a harsher way of expressing intolerance.

EXCERPT

Crimes committed in 2002 due to bias against the victim's perceived sexual orientation represent 16.7 percent of reported hate crime incidents the FBI reported Tuesday. It is the highest level in the 12 years since the agency began collecting the statistics.
...

Sexual orientation bias represents the third highest category of reported hate crimes. Racial bias continues to represent the largest percentage of bias-motivated incidents at 48.8 percent, followed by religious bias at 19.1 percent. Disability bias, at 0.6 percent, represents the lowest percentage, according to the report "Crime in the United States in 2002."
http://www.365gay.com/newscontent/102803hateCrimes.htm