Did you know that if you look online that you'll find at least 45 different instances since 2000 that LGBT people have been viciously attacked or murdered because of their sexual orientation.

This was brought to my attention by Kinetickyle on my twitter account (citizen0). Thanks Kyle.

That number may not seem like much to you, but read the reports below of some of those cases. To see if even one of these should have happened.

1) On July 3, 2000, in Grant Town, West Virginia, the victim, Arthur "J.R." Warren, was punched and kicked to death by two teenage boys who reportedly believed Warren had spread a rumor that he and one of the boys, David Allen Parker, had a sexual relationship. Warren's killers ran over his body to disguise the murder as a hit-and-run. Parker pleaded guilty and was sentenced to "life in prison with mercy", making him eligible for parole after 15 years. His accomplice, Jared Wilson, was sentenced to 20 years

2) On June 16, 2001, Fred C. Martinez Jr., a navajo transgender teen and two-spirit student was bludgeoned to death near Cortez,  Colorado by 18-year-old Shaun Murphy, who reportedly bragged about attacking a "fag". Murphy received only a 40yr sentence.

3) The December 2002 homicide of Nizah Morris, a transgender woman in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has gone unsolved. The transgender entertainer collapsed from entoxication outside a bar late at night, and placed into a cop car by onlookers who helped Morris into the car since she could not stand on her own. The police reported dropping her off on a street that was far from where she lived, minutes later a passing motorist called the police after Morris was found lying on the sidewalk bleeding from her head. Morris suffered extensive injuries to her skull and was placed on life support only to die two days later.

4) On July 23, 2003, Nireah Johnson and Brandie Coleman were shot to death by Paul Moore, when Moore learned after a sexual encounter that Johnson was transgender. Moore then burned his victims' bodies. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to 120 years in prison

5) On October 2, 2004, multiple assailants in Waverly, Ohio, attacked Daniel Fetty, a gay man who was hearing-impaired and homeless. Fetty was beaten, stomped, shoved nude into a garbage bin, impaled with a stick, and left for dead; he succumbed to his injuries the next day. Prosecuters alleged a hate crime. Three men received sentences ranging from seven years to life.

6) On March 11, 2005, Jason Gage, an openly gay man, was murdered in his Waterloo, Iowa, apartment by an assailant, Joseph Lawrence, who claimed Gage had made sexual advance to him. Gage was bludgeoned to death with a bottle, and stabbed in the neck, probably post-mortem, with a shard of glass. Lawrence was sentenced to fifty years in prison.

7) On July 30, 2006, six men were attacked with baseball bats and knives after leaving the San Diego, California Gay Pride festival. One victim was injured so severely that he had to undergo extensive facial reconstructive surgery. Three men pleaded guilty in connection with the attacks and received prison sentences. A 15-year-old juvenile also pleaded guilty

8) On May 12, 2007, Roberto Duncanson was murdered in Brooklyn, New York. He was stabbed to death by Omar Willock, who claimed Duncanson had flirted with him.

9) In February 2008, Duanna Johnson, a transsexual woman, was beaten by a police officer while she was held in the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center in Tennessee. Johnson said the officers reportedly called her a “faggot” and “he-she,” before and during the incident. In November 2008, she was found dead in the street, reportedly gunned down by three unknown individuals. This case was never solved.

10) On June 30, 2009, Seaman August Provost was found shot to death and his body burned at his guard post on Camp Pendleton by Petty Officer Jonathan Campos. LGBT community leaders "citing military sources initially said that Provost’s death was a hate crime." Provost had been harassed because of his sexual orientation. Military leaders have since explained that "whatever the investigation concludes, the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy prevented Provost from seeking help." Family and friends believe he was murdered because he was openly gay; Campos committed suicide a week later after admitting the murder, the Navy have not concluded if this was a hate crime.

There isn't anything I can say to make this edgy, witty, or humorous for you... This is what's happening to the LGBT community in this country. Hate crimes aren't a joke and they affect everyone of us in the community,

Be careful out there.