A petition to amend North Carolina hate crime laws, created by the victims of a recent high-profile assault, has gained more than 3,000 signatures.

The petition was created by Sarabeth Nordstrom and junior exercise science major Erin Johnston. Nordstrom and Johnston were hospitalized after an assault that occurred Feb. 11 and both believe the perpetrator was motivated by perceived sexual orientation.

The petition is hosted on the advocacy website change.org and is directed toward the N.C. State Legislature. It requests a change in state law to define crimes motivated by sexual orientation, gender expression and gender identity as hate crimes.