> It is well researched, well written and provides citations and sources to its conclusions.
First, this white paper is horribly written in comparison to a real research paper or academic report. It seems to be written for the audience of a site such as Infowars, which, not surprisingly, is one of the main sites that have promoted this white paper.[1]
Second, I was mostly interested in the author's comparison of the rates of hate crimes committed against LGBT people in Russia and the US. Not surprisingly, the author simply compares rates reported by the SOVA Center and the FBI. Anyone who has studied criminology for five minutes knows that you can't adequately compare the levels of crime in different areas this way. The American Society of Criminology, the largest criminological association in the world, has stated this numerous times in their publications, including their policy statements[2] (which strongly recommend against using Unified Crime Reports (UCRs) to compare levels of crime in different cities that are located IN THE SAME COUNTRY).
> It is also written by a lawyer who identifies themselves as part of the LGBT community.
Yes, and Bjørn Lomborg is a lifelong environmentalist, which I also learned at Infowars.
The only mention of Brian M. Heiss, the author of the white paper, anywhere on the Internet[3][4] is this white paper. Please direct me to this author, which should be easy since he's apparently your favorite source regarding this issue. I would never cite a source whose existence I couldn't prove.
> Letting the media tell you what to think
Are Amnesty International[5] and Human Rights Watch[6] "the media"?
First, this white paper is horribly written in comparison to a real research paper or academic report. It seems to be written for the audience of a site such as Infowars, which, not surprisingly, is one of the main sites that have promoted this white paper.[1]
Second, I was mostly interested in the author's comparison of the rates of hate crimes committed against LGBT people in Russia and the US. Not surprisingly, the author simply compares rates reported by the SOVA Center and the FBI. Anyone who has studied criminology for five minutes knows that you can't adequately compare the levels of crime in different areas this way. The American Society of Criminology, the largest criminological association in the world, has stated this numerous times in their publications, including their policy statements[2] (which strongly recommend against using Unified Crime Reports (UCRs) to compare levels of crime in different cities that are located IN THE SAME COUNTRY).
> It is also written by a lawyer who identifies themselves as part of the LGBT community.
Yes, and Bjørn Lomborg is a lifelong environmentalist, which I also learned at Infowars.
The only mention of Brian M. Heiss, the author of the white paper, anywhere on the Internet[3][4] is this white paper. Please direct me to this author, which should be easy since he's apparently your favorite source regarding this issue. I would never cite a source whose existence I couldn't prove.
> Letting the media tell you what to think
Are Amnesty International[5] and Human Rights Watch[6] "the media"?
[1] http://www.infowars.com/the-truth-about-russias-anti-gay-law...
[2] http://www.asc41.com/policies/policyPositions.html
[3] https://www.google.com/search?q=%22Brian+M+Heiss%22
[4] https://www.google.com/search?q=%22Brian+Heiss%22+%22lawyer%...
[5] http://www.amnestyusa.org/research/reports/annual-report-rus...
[6] http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/02/03/russia-sochi-games-highli...