HATE CRIMES
LEGISLATIVE TIMELINE
From the Human Rights Campaign Timeline: <http://www.hrc.org/resources/entry/hate-crimes-timeline>
February 22, 1989 | 101st Congress - The Hate Crimes Statistics Act is reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate after having been introduced in the 99th and 100th congresses as well. It would require the Department of Justice to collect and publish data about crimes motivated by hatred based on race, religion, ethnicity and sexual orientation.
April 23, 1990 | President George H.W. Bush signs the bill into law.
November 4, 1993 | The Hate Crimes Sentencing Enhancement Act is added as an amendment to the Violent Crime and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. It would allow judges to impose harsher penalties for hate crimes, including hate crimes based on gender, disability and sexual orientation that occur in national parks and on other federal property. It is later enacted.
June 7, 1997 | "Such hate crimes, committed solely because the victims have a different skin color or a different faith or are gays or lesbians, leave deep scars not only on the victims but on our larger community. They are acts of violence against America itself." – President Bill Clinton in his weekly radio address
June 7, 1998 | James Byrd Jr., 49, of Jasper, Texas, accepts a ride from three white men. Instead of taking him home, the three men beat Byrd behind a convenience store, strip him naked, chain him by the ankles to their pickup truck and drag him for three miles over rural roads outside Jasper. Forensic evidence suggests that Byrd had been attempting to keep his head up while being dragged, and an autopsy suggests that Byrd was alive during much of the dragging. Byrd dies after his right arm and head are severed after his body hit a culvert.
October 12, 1998 | A gay University of Wyoming student, Matthew Shepard, 21, of Laramie, meets two men, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, at a bar and they drive him to a remote area east of Laramie. There they rob him and tie him to a split-rail fence. They beat him violently leaving him to die in the cold of the night. Almost 18 hours later, a cyclist finds him. Later, Matthew Shepard dies at a hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado.
May 1999 | Speaking before a U.S. Senate panel to urge the passage of federal hate crimes legislation, Judy Shepard, Matthew Shepard’s mother, tells the panel, “I know this measure is not a cure-all, and it won't stop all hate violence. But it will send the message that this senseless violence is unacceptable and un-American. My son Matthew was the victim of a brutal hate crime, and I believe this legislation is necessary to make sure no family again has to suffer like mine."
Spring 2001 | 107th Congress - The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act is introduced in the House and the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act is introduced in the Senate. The legislation would provide federal assistance to states and local jurisdictions to prosecute hate crimes.
April/May 2003 | 108th Congress - The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act is reintroduced in the House and the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act is reintroduced in the Senate.
May 26, 2005 | 109th Congress - The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act is reintroduced in the House and the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act is reintroduced in the Senate.
May 3, 2007 | 110th Congress - The House passes the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act by a floor vote of 237-180.
September 27, 2007 | The Senate invokes cloture on the hate crimes legislation by a vote of 60-39. A voice vote adds the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act as an amendment to the Department of Defense Authorization Act. It is the first time that a transgender-inclusive piece of legislation passes both chambers of Congress.
Fall 2007 | President Bush issues a veto threat for the Defense authorization bill if hate crimes legislation is attached, ending consideration of the hate crimes bill in the 110th Congress.
April 29, 2009 | 111th Congress - The House passes the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act by a floor vote of 249-175.
July 16, 2009 | The Senate passes the hate crimes bill by a 63-28 vote. The bill is added to the Defense Department Authorization bill, which the Senate passes October 22, 2009.
October 28, 2009 | President Barack Obama signs the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law (as a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act).
A DEBATE ABOUT HATE CRIMES LEGISLATION
"Two sides of the debate have emerged, with one side arguing that hate crimes are a socially constructed category leading to the 'Balkanization' of America and the other responding that hate crime policy is necessary to promote racial and religious harmony and equality." McPhail, Beverly
"Without a doubt, committing a violent crime against someone because of their race, religion, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or other characteristic is a serious matter that merits legislative action. However, when drafting laws related to hate crimes, basic due process and free speech principles must not be sacrificed." Chris Anders
"Racism and homophobia cannot be solved by longer prison sentences." Bill Dobbs
"We recognize we cannot outlaw hate. However, laws shape attitudes. And attitudes influence behavior. Strong enforcement of these laws can have a deterrent impact and limit the potential for a hate crime incident to explode into a cycle of violence and widespread community disturbances." Wade Henderson
"Focus on the crime, not the victim." Tish Durkin
FOR FURTHER STUDY
"Are Hate Crime Laws Necessary?" NPR (April 10, 2012)
Hurd, Heidi. "Why Liberals Should Hate 'Hate Crime Legislation." Law and Philosophy 20 (Mar 2001): 215-232
McPhail, Beverly. "Hating Hate: Policy Implications of Hate Crime Legislation." Social Service Review 74 (Dec 2000): 635-653.
"The Fairness of Hate Crime Laws." New York Times (March 7, 2012). http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/03/07/are-hate-crime-laws-necessary
Shively, Michael and Carrie Shivold. "Hate Crime in America: The Debate Continues." National Institute of Justice Journal (June 2007).
Westbrook, Laurel. "Vulnerable Subjecthood: The Risks and Benefits of the Struggle for Hate Crime Legislation." Berkeley Journal of Sociology 52 (2008): 3-23.
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Homophobia & the "Gay Panic" Defense | Documentary Theatre | The Laramie Project: Analysis & Critical Commentary |
The Laramie Project: A Devised Ethnodrama? | The Tectonic Process | The Matthew Shepard Foundation | Hate Crimes Legislative Timeline & Debate