Hate Crimes

Hate Crime Laws

Limited federal legislation exists in the United States, thus leaving it primarily to the states to formulate hate crime legislation. Forty-five states and the District of Columbia presently have some form of hate crime statute; among them, a wide variation in the specifics of the laws exists. For example, in the area of protected groups (i.e., designated groups protected in the statute), most states list crimes targeted toward individuals because of their race, religion, or ethnicity as prohibited. However, a number of states also include sexual orientation, disability, gender, and age. The implication of this lack of uniformity is that members of a particular group may be protected by a hate crime statute in one community but not protected in a neighboring community in an adjacent state.

Another legal distinction among state laws involves the penalty structure of the statutes. In some states, a separate statute exists that prohibits hate crime behavior. In other states the hate crime law is a “penalty enhancement.” Thus, for the commission of a crime motivated by bias, the penalty may increase. Penalty enhancements may also apply to crimes committed with a gun or by individuals with long criminal histories, or crimes committed against vulnerable victims such as children.

Types of Hate Crimes

Some degree of variation exists among the offenses known as hate crimes. Some target particular victims, others all members of a group. Some have an expressive function, in order to provide excitement in the lives of the perpetrators; others are designed rationally to satisfy a specific objective. A precipitating event inspires some; others require no external catalyst to provoke their occurrence. Based on the offenders' motivations, hate crimes can be categorized as defensive, retaliatory, thrill-seeking, and mission.