Hate crimes in the United States

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Hate crimes in the United States have historically resulted in large scale violence.^{[citation needed]}

1 Definition
2 1990s
- 2.1 Prevalence of hate crimes
- 2.2 Distinguishing features of hate crime legislation
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Definition

The United States Congress defined a hate crime as a crime in which "the defendant's conduct was motivated by hatred, bias, or prejudice, based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or gender identity of another individual or group of individuals" in 1992.(HR 4797 - this bill never became law). On September 13, 1994, the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 was amended to make hate crimes illegal via the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (H.R.3355, Public Law No: 103-322) to include the following:

SEC. 280003. DIRECTION TO UNITED STATES SENTENCING COMMISSION REGARDING SENTENCING ENHANCEMENTS FOR HATE CRIMES.

(a) DEFINITION- In this section, `hate crime' means a crime in which the defendant intentionally selects a victim, or in the case of a property crime, the property that is the object of the crime, because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, or sexual orientation of any person.

(b) SENTENCING ENHANCEMENT- Pursuant to section 994 of title 28, United States Code, the United States Sentencing Commission shall promulgate guidelines or amend existing guidelines to provide sentencing enhancements of not less than 3 offense levels for offenses that the finder of fact at trial determines beyond a reasonable doubt are hate crimes. In carrying out this section, the United States Sentencing Commission shall ensure that there is reasonable consistency with other guidelines, avoid duplicative punishments for substantially the same offense, and take into account any mitigating circumstances that might justify exceptions.

[edit] 1990s

In the 1990s, legislaters in many U.S. states penalized hate crimes much harsher than previously. Few of these statutes make it more likely for a murderer to be given the death penalty when his crime is a hate crime. While some claim that these hate crimes laws exist because women and certain minorities have been victims and require special protection, other supporters of hate crime legislation say that hate crime laws exist because crimes motivated by hate deserve harsher punishments. California Penal Code section 422.6 offers a wider interpretation of hate crime, defining it as those acts "committed because of the victim's actual or perceived race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, gender, or sexual orientation. The actions considered criminal are using force or threat of force to willfully injure, intimidate, interfere with, oppress, or threaten any other person in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him or her by the Constitution or laws of the State or country."^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Prevalence of hate crimes

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Hate Crime Statistics for 2004, there were 7,649 criminal hate crime incidents, out of 1,367,009 violent crimes and 10,328,255 [http:// .gov/ucr/cius_04/offenses_reported/property_crime/index.html property crimes]; 0.065% of crimes committed in 2004 were hate crimes. In perspective, according to the National Safety Council, or NSC, in 2003 there were 4,500 accidental workplace fatalities and 13,900 fatalities due to accidental poisoning.

[edit] Distinguishing features of hate crime legislation

Hate crime laws do not vary significantly between different jurisdictions.^{[citation needed]} Most states have approached hate crime legislation by creating penalty enhancements for pre-existing crimes when those crimes were motivated by hatred, bias, or prejudice, based on the victim's inclusion in one of several legally-specified protected minorities. Thus, commission of a hate crime requires that two elements be proven. First, it must be shown that the defendant committed an enumerated predicate offense, such as assault, robbery, manslaughter, or kidnapping. Second, it must be shown that the defendant had illegal motivations based on the victim’s minority status (see thoughtcrime).^{[citation needed]}

While the hate crime definition used by the FBI for purposes of crime statistics includes sexual orientation, disability, and gender as protected categories, this is not the case for all hate crime laws. Most jurisdictions include race, religion, ethnicity, and gender as protected classes for purpose of hate crime statutes, while some states also include disability and sexual orientation. As of October 2001, the federal hate crime law 18 USC 245 (b)(2), passed in 1969, protects religion, race and national origin, and applies only if the victim is engaged in one of six protected activities. Seven states have no hate crime laws, 20 states have hate crime laws that do not protect sexual orientation, and 24 states have hate crime laws that include sexual orientation. There have been two attempts in 2001 and in 2004 to amend the current federal hate crime law to include homosexuals. Currently, these attempts have been unsuccessful.^{[citation needed]}