The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Volume 10 No. 2

Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) plans to reintroduce the Hate Crimes Prevention Act in the 106th Congress. As the MONITOR went to press, it appeared that Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) would join Senator Kennedy in introducing the bill, and Representatives John Conyers (D-MI) and Connie Morella (R-MD) would introduce the bill in the House.

Efforts to pass a more expansive hate crimes bill failed in the 105th Congress, despite the national focus on the vicious hate crime against African-American James Byrd of Texas in June of 1998 and the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard in Wyoming, because of his sexual orientation. Many had hoped that these heinous crimes would push the 105th Congress to pass a more substantive federal hate crimes law before adjourning.

Those in favor of an expanded federal hate crimes statute argue that crimes motivated by hate should be treated as a separate category given the unique emotional and psychological impact hate crimes have on the victim, the victim's community, and the country.

Last year's bill, S.1529/H.R. 3081, was introduced by Senator Kennedy (D-MA) and then-Representative Schumer (D-NY), and was co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of 33 senators and 169 representatives, but saw no floor action in either the House or Senate.

The legislation would have removed obstacles to federal prosecution by expanding federal authority for involvement in such crimes, and bringing individuals attacked because of their real or perceived gender, disability or sexual orientation under the legislation's coverage. In its current form, the statute leaves federal prosecutors powerless to intervene in bias-motivated crimes when the victim was not involved in a federally-protected activity such as voting or attending school. Federal authorities are also not able to act in cases where local law enforcement is unwilling, or unable, to act in cases of crimes committed because of an individual's sexual orientation, gender, or disability.

At present, 49 states and the District of Columbia have some level of protection for victims of hate crimes, Wyoming being the lone state without a hate crimes statutory provision. Forty-two states have statutes that increase the fine or prison time for crimes such as vandalism or assault if the offense is found to be motivated by prejudice.

The current federal statute, enacted in 1968, a time of heated racial tension in our nation, was designed primarily as a measure to protect African-Americans who were harassed or tormented as they attempted to vote or attend school. It covers hate crimes based on race, color, religion, or national origin and because the person was engaged in a federally protected activity. Although great strides have been made in protecting the rights of all people, the federal law still does not protect people who are attacked for reasons other than involvement in a federally protected activity such as voting or attending school. Nor does it protect individuals who are persecuted solely on the basis of their gender, sexual orientation, or disability.

The FBI's most recent hate crime statistics (1996) documented 8,759 hate crimes reported by 11,355 law enforcement agencies. Of those crimes:

• 63 percent were race-based;

• 14 percent committed against individuals because of their religion;

• 11 percent were based on ethnicity; and

• 12 percent were committed against individuals based on sexual orientation.