The fatal shooting of a clothing store owner near San Bernardino, California, by a man who made disparaging remarks about the shop’s Pride flag is latest in a barrage of anti-LGBTQ+ attacks that have put queer New Yorkers on edge and emboldened extremists.

“It’s very clear that our community is still under attack every day,” said Trevon Mayers, Senior Director of Advocacy and Community Engagement at Manhattan’s LGBTQ Community Center in the West Village. “So many stories don’t get told but we are quite literally fighting for our lives.”

The killing of Laura Ann Carleton comes on the heels of the fatal stabbing of O’Shae Sibley. Sibley was killed blasting music and after vogueing with friends at a Midwood, Brooklyn gas station last month.

O’Shae Sibley was stabbed to death in front of a gas station on July 29, 2023.

“It’s in the air, it’s in the water,” said Audacia Ray, Director of Community Organizing and Public Advocacy at the New York City Anti-Violence Project. “It’s a cultural conversation that’s happening now. So it does make people more vulnerable. In the past six months, we’ve seen more incidents of hate violence being reported, particularly in public transportation and on the streets.”

A report from the Anti-Defamation League and GLAAD released a report showing a recent rise in anti-LGBTQ hate and extremism nationwide.

Between June 2022 and April 2023, New York State had at least 35 anti-LGBTQ+ extremist and non-extremist incidents — the second-highest in the nation, behind California, according to the ADL and GLAAD.

“We are definitely seeing an uptick in more random acts that are targeted at folks who are perceived to be queer trans, and also attacks on spaces,” Ray said.

Ray said these incidents can escalate, as in the tragic California killing. A survey by Anti-Violence Project, of which Ray is a lead author, found that more than three-fifths of LGBTQ+ organizations experienced some type of harassment or violence.

There’s also been a wave of anti-LQBTQ+ legislation across the U.S., including the Supreme Court ruling that allows businesses to refuse services for gay people.

“The LGBTQ community is tired and scared,” said Stacy Lentz, co-owner of the Stonewall Inn. “We’re not going to back down, but this is alarming. This is alarming that an ally, just for putting up a pride flag in their store could be murdered. I really think this has a lot to do with our LGBTQ folks kind of being served up as red meat to a conservative base and putting us in the middle of the culture wars. When you have heated rhetoric full of hate, it can lead to actual real physical violence.”

Pride flags at the Stonewall Inn, the site of the 1969 Stonewall riots that set in motion the gay rights movement, were ripped down three separate times in one week ahead of Pride this year.

“I think that we’re all a little alarmed,” she said. “I think we’re all going to be on our toes a little bit more. And I think that, you know, we’ve got to really hold people accountable, that not only are doing this physical violence, but that are spewing this hatred, hateful language and again.”

A sign sits at a memorial at a gas station during a vigil for O’Shae Sibley on Friday, Aug. 4, 2023, in Brooklyn.

Less than three weeks ago, a man was slashed on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade in what was being investigated as a hate crime. In June, a gay man was stabbed to death aboard a Manhattan subway car, just a year after being the victim of a previous hate-fueled attack.

“I think people feel emboldened now, and the threats are real,” said Carol Bullock, Executive Director Pride Center of Staten Island. “It was very clear this weekend with that horrible tragedy. But you even look at all the legislation that’s happening right now — so many anti LGBTQIA+ bills are being introduced on a regular basis now, just attacking our community.”

“I have somebody who came up to me and talked about how they were playing music loud at a gas station, and all of a sudden was like, ‘Oh, I turned my radio down. I might not be safe,'” Bullock said. “And I was just talking with someone this morning about having pride flags outside of our homes. People are second guessing themselves now and are afraid that it just calls attention to them and you know, could put them in harm’s way.

New York City Councilman Erik Bottcher installs a new LGBTQ+ flag outside the Little Prince Bistro on Prince St. in Manhattan after an arsonist burned a different Pride flag earlier in the day on Feb. 20, 2023.

Anti-LGBTQ+ graffiti and drag queen story hour protests have become increasingly common, she said.

“There’s just this undercurrent of, the threats are real… It makes all of us sort of step back, pause and worry about our own safety here and worry about the safety of those within our community,” Bullock said.

In the face of the problem, advocates are pushing queer New Yorkers to take precautions like forming safety plans and letting others know where they’re going. They’re also asking allies to take extra care in protecting others and staying alert.

“It can be discouraging at times,”Mayers said. “I think for me, I look at these things as an indication or something that is missing. … When we’re facing attacks at every angle, I think the only way to overcome that is to respond with a stronger organizing approach.”