October 3, 2008

APPENDIX: HATE CRIMES LAWS

FEDERAL LEGISLATION

At this time, federal hate crimes law does not cover those targeted for violence based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.  This means that crimes like Matthew Shepard’s murder will go unpunished as hate crimes within the 19 states that still lack laws which include sexual orientation or gender identity as protected classes.

The Matthew Shepard Act, which would have added sexual orientation and gender identity (as well as gender and disability) to the protected classes under federal hate crimes law, was passed in May 2007 by the House of Representatives. In Sept. 2007, the Senate also voted to pass it as an amendment to the Department of Defense Authorization bill.  President George W. Bush indicated that he would likely veto the Authorization bill, however, if it reached his desk with the hate crimes law attached.

Ultimately, the Matthew Shepard Act was dropped from the Authorization bill due to fears of delaying necessary military funding. It is expected that the bill will be reintroduced at some point during 2008.

Among everyday Americans, however, this issue has already been decided. In a May 2007 poll, Gallup found a strong 68% in favor of expanding federal hate crimes law to cover sexual orientation, gender and gender identity. Only 27% were opposed.

For more information on the Matthew Shepard Act, please see the Task Force’s FAQ and the Human Rights Campaign’s federal legislation page.

STATE LEGISLATION

State laws on hate crimes vary considerably. Of the 45 states with some kind of hate crimes law that expands law enforcement resources and/or sentencing in cases involving bias-motivated crimes, 31 states and the District of Columbia explicitly include sexual orientation among the law's protected classes.

• In 11 states (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon and Vermont) and the District of Columbia, hate crimes laws cover crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity or gender expression.

• In 20 states (Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin), hate crimes laws address crimes based on sexual orientation but not gender identity or gender expression.

• In 13 states (Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Virginia and West Virginia), existing hate crimes laws do not cover crimes based on either sexual orientation or gender identity, although they do cover crimes against other identified groups.

• Georgia and Utah do not specify any protected classes in its hate crimes laws, rendering uncertain their application to LGBT people targeted for bias-motivated violence. Georgia's hate crimes law was invalidated by the state's Supreme Court in October 2004 as "unconstitutionally vague."

• Four states (Arkansas, Indiana, South Carolina, Wyoming) do not have any hate crimes laws.

To see current hate crimes legislation depicted on a map of the U.S., see the Human Rights Campaign’s color-coded 2008 State Hate Crimes Laws map.