The Matthew Shepard Act

The current federal hate crime statute does not include sexual orientation or gender identity. The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (also known as The Matthew Shepard Act) would change the current law.

A hate crime occurs when the perpetrator of the crime intentionally targets a victim because of their membership in a certain social group, usually defined by race, religion, national origin (or ethnicity) disability, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity. Hate crimes are different because they’re not directed simply at an individual but are meant to cause fear and intimidation in an entire group of people. Current law prevents the federal government from assisting state and local authorities.

What is the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act?

The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act gives the Department of Justice (DOJ) the power to investigate and prosecute bias-motivated violence by providing the DOJ with jurisdiction over crimes of violence where the perpetrator has selected the victim because of the person’s actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

The Act provides the DOJ with the ability to aid state and local jurisdictions either by lending assistance or, where local authorities are unwilling or unable to act, by taking the lead in investigations and prosecutions of bias-motivated, violent crimes resulting in death or serious bodily injury. The Act also makes grants available to state and local communities to combat violent crimes committed by juveniles, train law enforcement officers or assist in state and local investigations and prosecutions of bias-motivated crimes.

Why do we need a Federal hate crimes law?

In early December, Jose Sucuzhañay, a real estate broker and father of two, was attacked by a gang of men in Brooklyn. They beat him to death with a baseball bat while yelling anti-Hispanic and anti-gay slurs. He had been walking arm-in-arm with his brother, huddling against the cold.

Just days later, near San Francisco, four men attacked a woman with a rainbow sticker on her car, taunted her for being a lesbian, drove her to an abandoned building and brutally raped her, leaving her naked on the street.

These horrific crimes happened in states with inclusive LGBT hate crime laws, but many states have none - and even in those that do have sexual orientation and gender identity hate crimes laws, federal investigators can’t intervene without a national law. Until then, many Americans walk the streets in fear, without the legal protections they deserve.

Did You Know:

  • Since 1999, over 400 people have been murdered due to anti-transgender bias. In 2008 alone, there were 21 transgender and gender non-conforming people murdered.
  • Anti-gay hate crimes are the third most frequent kind of hate crimes in America after race and religion. And they were up 6% in the most recent FBI data.
  • 14.2% percent of transgender students report being physically assaulted as a result of their gender expression, while 30.4% percent experienced physical harassment.
  • At this time, only 11 states and the District of Columbia offer hate crimes protections that include sexual orientation and gender identity.
  • According to a Harris Interactive poll conducted at the end of last year, almost two-thirds (63%) of Colorado adults favor expanding hate crime laws to cover gay and transgender people.

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