PROFESSOR: EXPANDING FEDERAL HATE CRIMES LAWS OVERDUE
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Expanding federal hate crime laws to include offenses based on sexual orientation is long overdue, says a Ball State University hate crimes expert.
Upgrading the federal laws on hate crimes would allow federal authorities to prosecute individuals at the federal level in states where hate crimes legislation is limited or non-existent, said Bryan Byers, a criminal justice professor.
It also would increase the chance that individual states would add or expand their own legislation, he said.
More than 40 states have hate crimes laws but only 21 cover sexual orientation, 22 cover gender and 21 cover disability.
One of the significant factors in hate crime legislation not being passed in some states, including Indiana, has been over the inclusion of gays and lesbians, Byers said. Such inclusion is not always seen as necessary, yet gays and lesbians are a victimized group needing such protection and inclusion within any hate crime statute whether it be at the federal or state level.
He said some states that have hate crime laws do not include sexual orientation as a protected class while some do.
Clinton's hate crimes legislation died in committee in 1998 in the House and Senate. The initiative was reintroduced last month by a bipartisan group of lawmakers.
Under the bill, current law would be expanded so that the U.S. Justice Department could prosecute hate crimes based on a person's sex, sexual orientation or disability. Now, the statute only covers crimes based on race, color, religion or national origin.
The bill also would make federal prosecution of hate crimes easier. Current law limits prosecution to situations where the victim is targeted for engaging in certain federally protected activities, such as serving on a jury, voting or attending public school.
Byers said such legislation at the federal and state levels should raise public awareness of hate crimes.
Any effort to address the social problem of hate crimes will produce more interest in understanding the phenomena, he said. It has the potential to generate additional and appropriate proactive and reactive responses.
Expanding federal hate crimes laws will make the job of prosecutors easier, but violence against minorities will continue no matter what type of legislation is enacted, Byers said.
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(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact Byers by e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at (765) 285-1530. For more stories visit the Ball State University News Center at http://www.bsu.edu/news on the World Wide Web.) Marc Ransford 4/14/99
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