Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act
Other short titles | Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 |
---|---|
Long title | To provide Federal assistance to States, local jurisdictions, and Indian tribes to prosecute hate crimes, and for other purposes. |
Enacted by | the 111th United States Congress |
Announced in | the 111th United States Congress |
Number of co-sponsors | 120 |
Codification | |
Titles amended | 18 U.S.C.: Crimes and Criminal Procedure |
U.S.C. sections created | 18 U.S.C. ch. 13 § 249 et seq. |
Legislative history | |
|
The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act is a landmark
The bill also:
- Removes, in the case of hate crimes related to the race, color, religion, or national origin of the victim, the prerequisite that the victim be engaging in a federally protected activity, like voting or going to school;
- Gives federal authorities greater ability to engage in hate crimes investigations that local authorities choose not to pursue;
- Provides $5 million per year in funding for fiscal years 2010 through 2012 to help state and local agencies pay for investigating and prosecuting hate crimes;
- Requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to track statistics on hate crimes based on gender and gender identity (statistics for the other groups were already tracked).[4][5]
Origin
The Act is named after
The murders and subsequent trials brought national and international attention to the desire to amend U.S. hate crime legislation at both the state and federal levels.[8] Wyoming hate crime laws at the time did not recognize homosexuals as a suspect class,[9] whereas Texas had no hate crime laws at all.[10]
Supporters of an expansion of hate crime laws argued that hate crimes are worse than regular crimes without a prejudiced motivation from a psychological perspective. The time it takes to mentally recover from a hate crime is almost twice as long as it is for a regular crime, and LGBT people often feel as if they are being punished for their sexuality, which leads to higher incidence of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.[11] They also cited the response to Shepard's murder by many LGBT people, especially youth, who reported going back into the closet, fearing for their safety, experiencing a strong sense of self-loathing, and upset that the same thing could happen to them because of their sexual orientation.[11]
Background
The 1968 federal hate-crime law (
According to FBI statistics, of the over 113,000 hate crimes since 1991, 55% were motivated by racial bias, 17% by religious bias, 14% sexual orientation bias, 14% ethnicity bias, and 1% disability bias.[11][14]
Although not necessarily on the same scale as Matthew Shepard's murder, violent incidences against gays and lesbians occur frequently. Gay and lesbian people are often verbally abused, assaulted both physically and sexually, and threatened not just by peers and strangers, but also by family members.[15] One study of 192 gay men aged 14–21 found that approximately 1/3 reported being verbally assaulted by at least one family member when they came out and another 10% reported being physically assaulted.[16] Gay and lesbian youth are particularly prone to victimization. A nationwide study of over 9,000 gay high school students revealed that 24% of gay men and 11% of gay women reported being victimized at least ten times a year due to their sexual orientation.[16] Victims often experience severe depression, a sense of helplessness, low self-esteem, and frequent suicidal thoughts.[17] Gay youth are two to four times more likely to be threatened with a deadly weapon at school and miss more days of school than their heterosexual peers. Further, they are two to seven times more likely to attempt suicide. Some feel these issues, the societal stigma around homosexuality and fear of bias-motivated attack, lead to gay men and women, especially teenagers, becoming more likely to abuse drugs such as marijuana and cocaine and alcohol, have unprotected sex with multiple sexual partners, find themselves in unwanted sexual situations, have body image and eating disorders, and be at higher risk for STDs and HIV/AIDS.[16]
The Act was supported by thirty-one state
The LLEHCPA was introduced in substantially similar form in each Congress since the 105th Congress in 1999. The 2007 bill expanded on the earlier versions by including transgender provisions and making it explicit that the law should not be interpreted to restrict people's freedom of speech or association.[20]
Opposition
Senator Jeff Sessions, among other senators, was concerned that the bill would not protect all individuals equally.[22] Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina spoke against the bill, saying that it was unnecessary, that it violated the 14th Amendment, and that it would be a step closer to the prosecution of "thought crimes".[23][24] Four members of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights wrote a letter stating their opposition to the bill, citing concerns of double jeopardy.[25]
Legislative progress
106th Congress The bill (S. 622) was introduced by Senator Edward Kennedy. It was referred to the Judiciary Committee.
107th to 109th congress
The bill was first introduced into the
It was reintroduced by Rep. Conyers in the 108th and 109th congresses (on April 22, 2004, and May 26, 2005, respectively). As previously, it died both times when it failed to advance in committee.
Similar legislation was introduced by Sen. Gordon H. Smith (R–OR) as an amendment to the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (S. 2400) on June 14, 2004. Although the amendment passed the U.S. Senate by a vote of 65–33,[26] it was later removed by conference committee.
110th Congress
The bill was introduced for the fourth time into the House on March 30, 2007, by Conyers. The 2007 version of the bill added gender identity to the list of suspect classes for prosecution of hate crimes. The bill was again referred to the
The bill passed the subcommittee by
The bill then proceeded to the
On July 11, 2007, Kennedy attempted to introduce the bill again as an amendment to the Senate Defense Re-authorization bill (H.R. 1585). The Senate hate crime amendment had 44 cosponsors, including four Republicans. After Republicans staged a filibuster on a troop-withdrawal amendment to the defense bill, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid delayed the votes on the hate crime amendment and the defense bill until September.[28]
The bill passed the Senate on September 27, 2007, as an amendment to the Defense Re-authorization bill. The
In late 2008, then-President-elect Barack Obama's website stated that one of the goals of his new administration would be to see the bill passed.[33]
111th Congress
House
Conyers introduced the bill for the fifth time into the House on April 2, 2009. In his introductory speech, he claimed that many law enforcement groups, such as the
The bill was immediately referred to the full Judiciary Committee, where it passed by a vote of 15–12 on April 23, 2009.[36]
On April 28, 2009, Rep.
The bill then moved to the full House, for debate. During the debate, Rep.
The bill passed the House on April 29, 2009, by a vote of 249–175, with support from 231 Democrats and 18 Republicans, including
On April 30, 2009, Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) compared the bill to the novel Animal Farm and claimed it would harm free speech.[43] Rep. George Miller (D-CA) and Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) both announced that they were unable to be present for the vote, but had they been present they would each have voted in favor.[44][45] Conversely, Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX) claimed federal law was already sufficient to prevent hate crimes and said that had he been present he would have voted against the bill.[46]
On October 8, 2009, the House passed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act as part of the conference report on Defense Authorization for fiscal year 2010.[47] The vote was 281–146, with support from 237 Democrats and 44 Republicans.[42]
Senate
The bill again proceeded to the Senate, where it was again introduced by Kennedy on April 28, 2009.[48] The Senate version of the bill had 45 cosponsors as of July 8, 2009.[49]
On June 25, 2009, the
Reverend Mark Achtemeier of the
The Matthew Shepard Act was adopted as an amendment to S. 1390 (the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010) by a 63–28 cloture vote on July 15, 2009.
The bill won the support of five Republicans:
).Passage
The bill passed the Senate when the Defense bill passed on July 23, 2009.[57] As originally passed, the House version of the defense bill did not include the hate crimes legislation, requiring the difference to be worked out in a conference committee. On October 7, 2009, the conference committee published the final version of the bill, which included the hate crimes amendment;[58] the conference report was then passed by the House on October 8, 2009.[59] On October 22, 2009, following a 64–35 cloture vote,[60][61] the conference report was passed by the Senate by a vote of 68–29.[62] The bill was signed into law on the afternoon of October 28, 2009, by President Barack Obama.[2]
Legislative history
Congress | Short title | Bill number | Date introduced | Sponsor | # of cosponsors | Latest status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
107th Congress
|
Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2001 | H.R. 1343 | April 3, 2001 | Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) | 208 | Died in the House Subcommittee on Crime
|
S. 625 | March 27, 2001 | Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) | 50 | Failed cloture motion 54–43 | ||
108th Congress
|
Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2004 | H.R. 4204 | April 22, 2004 | Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) | 178 | Died in the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security |
S.Amdt. 3183 to S. 2400 | June 14, 2004 | Sen. Gordon H. Smith (R-OR) | 4 | Passed in the Senate (65–33) as an amendment to the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 S. 2400 Removed from conference report | ||
109th Congress
|
Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2005 | H.R. 2662 | May 26, 2005 | Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) | 159 | Died in the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security
|
S. 1145 | May 26, 2005 | Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) | 45 | Died in the Senate Judiciary Committee | ||
110th Congress
|
Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007 | H.R. 1592 | March 30, 2007 | Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) | 171 | Passed the House (237–180) |
S. 1105 | April 12, 2007 | Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) | 44 | Died in the Senate Judiciary Committee | ||
111th Congress
|
Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 | H.R. 1913 | April 2, 2009 | Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) | 120 | Passed the House (249–175) as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 H.R. 2647. |
S. 909 | April 28, 2009 | Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) | 45 | Died in the Senate Judiciary Committee (after the Leahy version passed) | ||
S.Amdt. 1511 to S. 1390 | July 15, 2009 | Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) | 37 | Passed in the Senate (63–28) as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010.[57] Signed into law October 28, 2009 by President Barack Obama. |
Enforcement
In May 2011, a man in Arkansas pleaded guilty under the Act to running a car containing five Hispanic men off the road. As a result, he became the first person ever convicted under the Act. A second man involved in the same incident was later convicted under the Act; his appeal of that conviction was denied on August 6, 2012.[63][64][65]
In August 2011, one man in
On March 15, 2012, the Kentucky State Police assisted the FBI in arresting David Jenkins, Anthony Jenkins, Mable Jenkins, and Alexis Jenkins of Partridge, Kentucky, for the beating of Kevin Pennington during a late-night attack in April 2011 at Kingdom Come State Park,[67][68] near Cumberland. The push came from the gay-rights group Kentucky Equality Federation, whose president, Jordan Palmer, began lobbying the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky in August 2011[69] to prosecute after stating he had no confidence in the Harlan County Commonwealth's Attorney to act.[70] "I think the case's notoriety may have derived in large part from the Kentucky Equality Federation efforts," said Kerry Harvey, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky.[71] Mable Jenkins and Alexis Jenkins pleaded guilty.[71]
In 2016, for the first time the Justice Department used the Act to bring criminal charges against a person for selecting a victim because of their gender identity.[72][73] In that case Joshua Brandon Vallum plead guilty to murdering Mercedes Williamson in 2015 because she was transgender, in violation of the Act.[72][73] In 2017, he was "sentenced to 49 years in prison and fined $20,000 for killing his ex-girlfriend because she was transgender."[74] The Justice Department reported that "[t]his is the first case prosecuted under the Hate Crimes Prevention Act involving a victim targeted because of gender identity."[75]
Court challenges
The constitutionality of the law was challenged in a 2010 lawsuit filed by the Thomas More Law Center; the lawsuit was dismissed.[76]
William Hatch, who pleaded guilty to a hate crime in the New Mexico case, also contested the law on Constitutional grounds. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals heard the case (U.S. v. Hatch) and upheld the conviction on June 3, 2013.[77]
See also
References
- ^ "Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act passes Congress, finally". Mercurynews.com. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
- ^ a b "Obama Signs Hate Crimes Bill". The New York Times. 28 October 2009. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
- ^ "President Obama Signs Hate Crime Prevention Act". Fox News. October 28, 2009. Archived from the original on 2013-10-06. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
- ^ "Human Rights Campaign". hrc.org. Archived from the original on November 19, 2008. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
- ^ "Hate Crimes Protections 2007". National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved December 9, 2009.
- ^ The Colorado Independent. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
one of whom now admits to targeting Shepard for being gay
- ^ "New Details Emerge in Matthew Shepard Murder – ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. November 26, 2004. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
- ^ "Repräsentantenhaus will härtere Strafen bei "Hass-Verbrechen"". Tages-Anzeiger. September 10, 2009. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
- ^ "State Hate Crimes / Statutory Provisions". Anti-Defamation League. October 10, 2009. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011.
- ^ Elizondo, Stephanie (June 8, 1999). "Black leaders honor Byrd Jr" (PDF). Laredo Morning Times. Associated Press. p. 4A. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 29, 2009. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
- ^ a b c "The Ripple Effect of the Matthew Shepard Murder: Impact on the Assumptive World Theory". American Behavioral Scientist. 2002.
- ^ New York Times, May 3, 2007. Retrieved May 3, 2007.
- ^ "Gay Adolescents and Suicide: Understanding the Association". American Behavioral Scientist. 2002.
- ^ Abrams, J., "House Passes Extended Hate Crimes Bill", The Guardian, May 3, 2007. Retrieved on May 3, 2007.
- ^ "Sexual Orientation and Adolescents". Pediatrics. 2004.
- ^ a b c "Gay Adolescents and Suicide: Understanding the Association". Adolescence. 2005.
- PMID 17716060. Archived from the originalon July 1, 2012.
- ^ Supporters for this legislation Archived 2007-05-16 at the Wayback Machine, Human Rights Campaign. Retrieved March 5, 2007.
- ^ The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act / Matthew Shepard Act Archived 2008-11-19 at the Wayback Machine, Human Rights Campaign. Retrieved September 27, 2007.
- ^ Questions and Answers: The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine, Human Rights Campaign. Retrieved on May 4, 2007.
- ^ Text of H.R. 1592 "Referred to Senate Committee after being Received from House" as accessed on October 2, 2007; the text of S. 1105 accessed on the same date does not include this section.
- ^ "USDOJ.gov". USDOJ.gov. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
- ^ Nasaw, Daniel (October 23, 2009). "Judges barred from demanding doctor's notes in transgender name change cases". The Guardian. Retrieved December 10, 2009.
- ^ "DeMint Speech Against Hate Crimes Legislation Attached to Defense Authorization". Speeches – News Room – United States Senator Jim DeMint. Archived from the original on December 14, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
- ^ "open letter" (PDF). Retrieved December 30, 2012.
- ^ Roll call vote 114, via Senate.gov
- ^ Simon, R. Bush threatens to veto expansion of hate-crime law, Los Angeles Times, May 3, 2007. Retrieved on May 3, 2007.
- ^ Chibbaro, Lou (July 26, 2007). "Hate crimes bill in limbo". Washington Blade. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007.
- ^ One-Time Gifts. "Senate Passage of Hate Crimes Bill Moves Bill Closer Than Ever To Becoming Law". HRC. Archived from the original on April 2, 2012. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
- ^ Statement of Administration Policy Archived 2017-01-30 at the Wayback Machine, Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget. Retrieved May 9, 2007.
- ^ "US Senate passes gay hate crimes law Archived 2009-06-22 at the Wayback Machine", PinkNews.co.uk.
- ^ Wooten, Amy (January 1, 2008). "Congress Drops Hate-Crimes Bill". Windy City Times. Retrieved July 31, 2008.
- ^ "Plan to Strengthen Civil Rights". The Office of the President-Elect. Archived from the original on February 17, 2009. Retrieved February 18, 2009.
- ^ "Introduction of the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009". April 2, 2009. Retrieved June 18, 2009.
- ^ "Introduction of the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009". April 2, 2009. Retrieved June 18, 2009.
- ^ "H. Rept. 111-86 - Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009". Congressional Record. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
- ^ "Expressing Support for "Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (LLEHCPA)/Matthew Shepard Act"". April 28, 2009. Retrieved June 21, 2009.
- ^ "Nineteen Eighty-Four". IowaPolitics.com. April 28, 2009. Archived from the original on May 20, 2009. Retrieved June 18, 2009.
- ^ "H.R. 1913 – Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009". United States House of Representatives Committee on Rules. April 28, 2009. Archived from the original on June 25, 2009. Retrieved June 18, 2009.
- ^ "Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009". April 30, 2009. Retrieved June 21, 2009.
- ^ "The Passage of the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act". April 29, 2009. Retrieved June 21, 2009.
- ^ a b Roll call vote 223, via Clerk.House.gov
- ^ "All People Are Equal". April 30, 2009. Retrieved June 21, 2009.
- ^ "Personal Explanation". April 30, 2009. Retrieved June 21, 2009.
- ^ "Personal Explanation". April 30, 2009. Retrieved June 21, 2009.
- ^ "Personal Explanation". April 30, 2009. Retrieved June 21, 2009.
- ^ "Final Vote Results for Role Call 223". Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. October 10, 2009. Archived from the original on October 13, 2009. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
- ^ "Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act Introduced in Senate". Feminist.org. April 29, 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
- ^ "Bill Summary & Status – 111th Congress (2009–2010) – S.909 – Cosponsors". thomas.loc.gov. Archived from the original on October 18, 2015. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
- ^ "Senate Hate Crimes Hearing at 10am "HRC Back Story". June 25, 2009. Archived from the original on July 2, 2009. Retrieved June 28, 2009.
- The Advocate. Retrieved June 28, 2008.
- ^ "Holder pushes hate crimes law; GOP unpersuaded". June 25, 2009. Archived from the original on June 29, 2009. Retrieved June 28, 2009.
- The Advocate. Archived from the originalon 2010-08-05. Retrieved July 17, 2009.
- ^ Rushing, J. Taylor (July 20, 2009). "Hate Crimes Amendments Pass Easily". The Hill. Archived from the original on July 25, 2009. Retrieved July 21, 2009.
- ^ "Hate Crimes Act Makes Conference Report, Death Penalty Gone". lawdork.net. October 8, 2009. Archived from the original on October 15, 2009.
- ^ Sessions, Jeffrey S. (AL). "Congressional Record 155 (2009) p. S7686" (PDF). www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
- ^ a b "Senate.gov". Senate.gov. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
- ^ "HRC Backstory: Conference Report Published – Hate Crimes Bill Included". Archived from the original on 2009-10-08. Retrieved 2009-10-07.
- ^ "AFP: US lawmakers pass 680-billion-dollar defense budget bill".
- ^ "HRC Backstory: Senate Achieves Cloture on DoD Conference Report Including Hate Crimes Provision". Archived from the original on 2009-10-29. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
- ^ "Roll call vote". Senate.gov. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
- ^ Roxana Tiron, "Senate OKs defense bill, 68–29", The Hill, found at The Hill website . Accessed October 22, 2009.
- ^ Fry, Lindsey (May 23, 2011). "Man Accused of Violating the Hate Crime Prevention Act". KATV. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
- ^ "Appeals court upholds hate crime law in Ark. case". KATV. August 6, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
- ^ "U.S. v. Maybee (opinion)" (PDF). United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. August 6, 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "2 Men Plead Guilty In Swastika Branding Case". The Huffington Post. August 18, 2011.
- ^ "2 Kentucky men face first-of-their-kind federal hate-crime charges". Lexington Herald-Leader. March 15, 2012.
- ^ "Two Harlan County, Kentucky, Men Indicted for Federal Hate Crime Against Individual Because of Sexual Orientation; The Indictment Marks the First Case Charged Under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act Involving Sexual Orientation". United States Department of Justice. April 12, 2012.
- ^ "Kentucky Equality Federation communicates with the U.S. Department of Justice about Harlan County Hate Crime". Kentucky Equality Federation Official Press Releases – Copy of request to prosecute included. August 24, 2011.
- ^ "Kentucky advocacy group pushes first federal hate crime arrests". Associated Press. March 15, 2013.
- ^ a b "David Jason Jenkins, Anthony Ray Jenkins Face Life In Anti-Gay Attack Under New U.S. Hate Crime Law". The Huffington Post. April 18, 2012.
- ^ a b Grinberg, Emanuella (22 December 2016). "Hate-crime case result historic for feds - CNNPolitics.com". Cnn.com. Retrieved 2016-12-22.
- ^ a b "Federal Hate Crime Law Used For Transgender Violence For The First Time - BuzzFeed News". Buzzfeed.com. 2016-12-15. Retrieved 2016-12-22.
- ^ Ellis, Ralph; Grinberg, Emanuella; DiGiacomo, Janet (15 May 2017). "Hate crime: Man sentenced for killing transgender woman". CNN. Retrieved 2017-05-18.
- ^ "Mississippi Man Sentenced to 49 Years in Prison for Bias-Motivated Murder of Transgender Woman in Lucedale, Mississippi". www.justice.gov. 15 May 2017. Retrieved 2017-05-18.
- ^ Reilly, Ryan J. (September 8, 2010). "Judge Dismisses Challenge To Hate Crimes Law: Plaintiffs Argued Their Hate Would Cause Headaches". tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
- ^ Boetel, Ryan (July 5, 2013). "U.S. court upholds man's hate crime conviction". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
External links
- H.R. 1592, the House bill
- S. 1105, the Senate bill
- South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint's speech. Flash video on YouTube. July 16, 2009. 12 minutes.
- Text of floor speeches by Senators Kennedy, Bayh, and Schumer introducing the bill in the Senate on April 12, 2007
- Final form of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act