Prior research has suggested that hate crimes hurt more, in that they are more physically severe than other crimes. A separate body of research has focused on the role of weapons in exacerbating violence; yet, no research has considered the role of weapon use in bias crime victimization. Following this, this research examines the relationship between weapon use, bias motivation, and victimization in the United States. On one hand, weapons may play an important role in hate crime by exacerbating violence. On the other hand, weapons may be unnecessary for facilitating hate crime violence, given the animus associated with bias motivation. Using data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System, we find that bias crimes are both (a) less likely than nonbias crimes to involve weapons and (b) more likely than nonbias crimes to involve serious or lethal victim injury. These patterns are particularly pronounced for antisexual orientation hate crimes.

先前的研究表明，仇恨犯罪对人的伤害更大，因为与其他犯罪相比，他们的身体更为严重。另外一个研究机构侧重于武器在加剧暴力中的作用；然而，尚无研究考虑武器使用在偏见犯罪受害中的作用。此后，本研究考察了美国武器使用，偏见动机和受害之间的关系。一方面，武器可能会加剧暴力，在仇恨犯罪中发挥重要作用。另一方面，考虑到与偏见动机有关的厌恶情绪，为促进仇恨犯罪暴力可能不需要武器。使用来自国家事故报告系统的数据，我们发现，偏见犯罪（a）涉及非武器犯罪的可能性较小，并且（b）涉及严重或致命的受害人伤害的可能性大于非偏压犯罪。这些模式在反性倾向仇恨犯罪中尤为突出。