The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Hate Crime Legislation: The Long Path to the White House – and Next Steps

By Michael Lieberman

Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was fond of saying that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” I thought of Dr. King’s words, when President Barack Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA) into law on October 28.

Under the leadership of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a broad coalition of civil rights, religious, educational, professional, law enforcement, and civic organizations has been meeting regularly and working very hard to secure enactment of the HCPA since 1997.

The hate crimes coalition, co-chaired by the Anti- Defamation League, the Human Rights Campaign, the National Council of Jewish Women, and The Leadership Conference, is very unusual in that it has always included core civil rights organizations, such as the NAACP, the American Association of University Women, the National Council of La Raza, and the Asian American Justice Center – along with the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Police Executive Research Forum, and the National District Attorneys Association. Those groups don’t lobby together very often at all.

Over the past decade, our coalition educated its constituents; organized rallies, lobby days, call-in days; attended town hall meetings – and built support for the legislation one member at a time. Bipartisan majorities in both the Senate and the House had approved this legislation on a number of occasions, but never the same language at the same time. On any number of occasions over the past 12 years, members of Congress who opposed the legislation told us that they would drop their opposition – if only we would agree to drop the bill’s coverage for crimes directed at individuals because of their sexual orientation, or because of their gender. We rightly, adamantly refused those offers. And, with the critical support of President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder Jr., our Hill champions were finally able to enact this important measure, providing federal protection, for the first time for victims attacked because of their sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability.

Enactment was long overdue – wrongly delayed by distortions, outright lies about the bill’s provisions (like the “Wanted” poster of Jesus below), and eight years of veto threats by President George W. Bush. Far from the false labels by a vocal minority of conservative religious voices, (“Pedophile Protection Act” and “Hate Christians Act” to name just two), the HCPA is simple and straightforward – it closes gaps in existing federal authority to investigate and prosecute biasmotivated crimes. This update of a 40-year old federal hate crime law encourages partnerships between state and federal law enforcement officials to more effectively address hate violence. The new law also provides limited authority for federal investigations and prosecutions when local authorities are unwilling or unable to act.

Forty-five states and the District of Columbia now have hate crime laws, but it’s a patchwork of protection:

• Only 30 states and the District include sexual orientation in their law;
• Only 26 states and the District include gender;
• Only 12 states and the District include gender identity; and
• Only 30 states and the District include disability.

The HCPA expands protection to these four categories of victims everywhere – and federal support, through training or direct assistance, will help ensure that biasmotivated violence is effectively investigated and prosecuted.

The enactment of this important legislation – the most important, comprehensive, and inclusive hate crime law in the past 40 years – is a sweet victory.

But in the immortal words of “West Wing” President Jed Bartlet: “What’s next?”

Well, first, the Justice Department and coalition members should partner to train federal and state investigators and prosecutors on the new authority provided under the law – and about the availability of new resources to address hate violence. The HCPA, for the first time, authorizes the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute certain bias-motivated crimes based on the victim’s actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability. Prior federal law did not provide authority for involvement in these categories of cases.

Second, we must do more to improve hate crime reporting. Since the enactment of the 1990 Hate Crime Statistics Act (HCSA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation has published an annual report on hate crimes in America. The HCSA has sparked improvements in hate crime response since in order to effectively report hate crimes, police officials must be trained to identify and respond to them. The FBI report is now the most authoritative snapshot of hate violence in America – though clearly incomplete, with thousands of police agencies not reporting hate crime data at all.

As documented in a trailblazing report by The Leadership Conference Education Fund, “Confronting the New Faces of Hate: Hate Crimes in America 2009,” hate crimes are still disturbingly prevalent in America. In 2008, the bureau reported nearly 7,800 bias-motivated incidents – almost one hate crime in America in every hour of every day. The FBI also documented the highest number of crimes directed at Blacks, Jews, and gay men and lesbians since 2001, along with a significant rise in the number of victims selected on the basis of religion or sexual orientation

Third, there is a growing awareness of the need to complement tough laws and more vigorous enforcement – which can deter and address violence motivated by bigotry – with education and training initiatives designed to reduce prejudice. The Education Fund report also revealed disturbing indicators on this front. The election of the first African-American president, a deep economic and housing crisis, a broken immigration system, and faster and anonymous means of communication among like-minded individuals online have combined to form a near-perfect storm of grievances for extremists and hate group organizing. The federal government has a central role to play in funding program development in this area and promoting awareness of bullying prevention and antibias education initiatives that work.

HCPA advocates and our champions in Congress have earned a moment to smell the roses. We can celebrate our success – finally! – in enacting this important new law. Then let’s roll up our sleeves and move on to the next steps in making America more equal, fair and safe.

Michael Lieberman is the Washington counsel for the Anti-Defamation League. He chairs The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights hate crime task force in Washington, D.C.