Appendix : State and Local Hate Crime Laws, 1979-2000
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Year Jurisdiction Areas Covered Groups Status
Covered
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1979 Massachusetts 1-5 6-7 In force
(7 was added in 1996 by HB 5191
and SB 165; NGLTF 1997; signed by
Governor 7/22/96; also adds persons
with HIV/AIDS (LGLAGNY 1996h))
1981 Oregon 1-5 6-7 In force
(7 was added in 1989 by HB 2784;
Berrill 1992)
1983 Minnesota 1, 3-5 6-9 In force
(expanded to allow (7 was added to statistics collection in 1988;
civil suits in 1996 by and 7 was added to criminal penalties in
HF 1648 & SB 2186; 1989; also SB 606, passed in 1989, required
includes s/o statistics collection and police training;
(NGLTF 1997) Berrill 1992)
1984 California 1-4 6-9 In force; part of
(strengthened law with AB 63 in 1987; civil code 61.7
SB 911 in 1995 by allowing courts to
order offenders in a counseling program)
84 Seattle, WA 1, 3 6-7 In force
1986 Illinois 1-5 6-9 In force
(7 & 9 were added in 1990 by SB 2267;
Berrill 1992)
1987 Connecticut 1-4 6-9 In force
87 Maine (LD 1987) 1, 3-4 6-7 In force
(expanded in 1991 to include data collection (Berrill 1992); sentencing
classes were enhanced in 1995 under HB 592)
87 New York 1-3 6, 8-9 In force
(may have been 1986)
1988 Colorado 1-3 6 In force
88 Columbus, OH 1, 3 6-7 In force
88 Michigan 1-3 6, 8 In force
(Miner and Bauza 7/1/97; expanded in 1991)
88 Oklahoma 1-4 6, 9 In force
88 Oklahoma City, OK 1, 3 6-9 In force
88 Wisconsin 1-3 6-7, 9 In force
(Wisc 1987 Act 348)
1989 Atlanta, GA 4 6-7 In force
89 Burlington, IA 1,3 6-9 In force
89 Florida 1-4 6-7 In force
(7 added in 1991 by SB 1482; Berrill
1992)
89 Montgomery County, 1-2 6-9 In force
MD (Berrill 1992)
89 Nevada 1, 3, 4 6-7 In force
(4 added in 1995 by AB 606; law also expanded to have bias
considered for circumstances under which a death penalty may be
imposed for murder; signed by Governor 5/23/95; effective 10/1/95;
LGLAGNY 1995f)
89 New Jersey 1-4 6-9 In force
(7 added in 1990; Berrill 1992; in 1996
penalties increased for simple assault
hate crimes; includes s/o; NGLTF
1996b)
89 St. Louis, MO 1-4 6-9 In force
89 Washington 1-3 6-9 In force
(7 added in 1993)
1990 Chicago, IL 1, 3-4 6-9 In force
90 Iowa 1-5 6-9 In force
(amended in 1990 to state that the law does not establish any new
rights; Berrill 1992)
90 New Hampshire 1, 3 6-8 In force
(HB 1299; sponsored by Trombly on 1/3/90; on 2/21amended on
House floor, then passed HOUSE; passed Senate on 3/22; Governor
signed 4/6 (Lexis-Nexis 1997))
90 Pennsylvania 1-4 6 In force
90 Vermont 1-3 6-9 In force
90 Washington, DC 1-5 6-9 In force
90 Wichita, KS 1, 3 6-7 In force
1991 Arizona 1-4 6-9 In force
(added 7-9 in 1995; SB 1143; added
1-3 in 1997; HB 2182 into SB 1047; Sponsor: Rep. sexual orientation
Robin Shaw (R-26-Phoenix); Rep. Shaw filed a discharge petition on
4/3/97;
a rarely used procedure that will send Senate Bill 1047 straight to the
House floor (McKinnon 4/5/97); on 4/10/97 the House passed SB 1047
by 36-20-4 after an attempt was made to compromise on how groups
were named in the bill (McKinnon 4/11/97); the compromise was the
Governor’s version and failed 29-18; that wording allowed stiffer
punishments if the crime was committed because the victim was the
member of some identifiable group; final passed House 39-20-1 on
4/21/97; passed Senate final 19-9-2 on 4/21/97 (web page); signed
by Governor on 4/28/97 (Ofstedahl 4/29/97); separate bill?
allows victims to take civil action (Jones 5/16/97; 8/1/97)
91 El Cerrito, CA 4 6-7 In force
91 Louisville, KY 1, 3-4 6-7 In force
91 Maryland 1, 3-4 6 In force
(this was amendment that added statistics collection, including
s/o to original hate crimes law; Berrill 1992)
91 Rhode Island 1-4 6 In force
91 Texas 1, 3-4 * In force
1992 Tacoma, WA 1 7 In force
classifies assaults as hate crimes if a court finds the act was
motivated by sexual orientation (Hucks 5/14/97)
92 Utah 1-2 6-7 In force
1993 Alaska 1, 3 6 In force
1994 Virginia 1-4 6 In force
1995 Alabama 1, 3 6 In force
95 Arkansas 2 6 In force
95 Delaware 1, 3 6-7 In force
(penalties enhanced in 1997; s/o added; SB 53; introduced Jan. 31
by Sen. Margaret Rose Henry (Delaware...3/21/97); passed both
chambers on 6/25/97; House by 38-0 and Senate by 16-3; (Taylor
7/4/97)); Governor signed on 7/12/97 (“Hate Crime...” 7/14/97)
95 Tumwater, WA 1, 3 6,7 Effective 1996
(Hucks 3/19/97) (Hucks 5/14/97)
1997 Albuquerque, NM 1 6-9 In force
(passed council 12/16/96 by 7-2); signed by mayor 1/97
LGLAGNY 1997a)
97 Louisiana 1-3, 5 6-7 In force
(earlier law covered 2 and 6; the 1997 law was signed by the Governor
in 7/97 (Jones 8/1/97); the bill was SB 914; Sponsor Sen. James Cox
(D-Lake Charles) (LEGAL online); SB 914 passed the Senate on 5/21
by 23-13-3; in an attempt to diffuse some of the opposition to, Sen. Cox
added to the protected status list, persons who are members, whether
perceived or not, in certain organized groups or organizations, such as
the military or the Christian Coalition; Sen. Phil Short (R-Covington)
proposed an amendment to the bill to delete sexual orientation; Sen.
John Guidry (D-Baton Rouge) made a motion to table Short's
amendment (kill it), which passed by a vote of 21-11; he followed that
motion by requesting that the discussion of the bill end immediately;
motion passed 21-12 (LEGAL 5/22/97) (have roll call); passed the
House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee on 6/6/97 by a
vote of 6-2 after surviving a hostile amendment to remove sexual
orientation from the bill; the amendment failed 5-3 (LEGAL 6/6/97);
passed House on 6/17/97 by 61-37; an amendent to remove s/o failed
46-49; the bill now returned again to the Senate for confirmation of
technical amendments that were added to it in the House committee
(LEGAL 6/17/97)
97 Nebraska 1-3 6-9 In force
Hate Crimes; including LB 90; Passed committee week of 4/7
sexual orientation; (NGLTF 4/16/97); passed legislature by 35
increases penalties and to 9 on 6/5/97; signed by Governor on
establish civil actions 6/12/97 (Taylor 7/4/97)
against individuals found
guilty of committing
crimes against a person or person's property because of race, color,
religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, or
disability (Taylor 7/4/97)
97 Virginia Establishes panel to study hate HJR 561; Delegate C. Richard
crimes in the state; s/o was Cranwell (D- Craig County) made
included when HB 2639 (above) a motion to insert s/o but no vote
was inserted, but pulled before taken; w/o s/o HJR 561 passed
vote; the subcommittee charges it the House on 2/4 (99-0) and the
with studying only those hate Senate on 2/18 (39-0); because
crimes against ethnic, racial, it was slightly amended in the
gender and religious groups, Senate, it was sent back to the
entities and individuals; bill House where it passed on 2/20
still applies to gays, however, (100-0); didn’t need Gov.’s
and commission is studying anti- signature (Jones 3/14/97)
gay hate crime (Jones 8/29/97)
97 Winona, MN Hate Crimes; formation Received approval from the City
of a hate crimes task Council 1/97 (Seidel 5/31/97)
force by the Winona
Human Rights Commission; the Task Force will provide support for
victims of hate crimes; victims will be referred to the group by the
Police Department
1998 Kentucky 3, Hate Crime penalty 6, 7; Previous attempts had failed; HB 455;
enhancement
1999 Missouri 3, Hate Crime penalty 6, 7; Previous attempts had failed; SB 328
enhancement 3 added s/o to existing law;
Date of passage not known
Idaho 1-4 6 In force
Lacey, WA 1 ? 6-8 ? In force
(LGLAGNY 1997c)
Mississippi 1, 3 6, 8 In force
Missouri 1-3 6 In force
Montana 1, 3 6 In force
New Mexico 4 6 In force
North Carolina 1, 3 6 In force
North Dakota 1, 3 6, 8 In force
Ohio 1-3 6 In force
South Dakota 1, 3 6 In force
Tennessee 1, 3 6 In force
West Virginia 1, 3 6, 8 In force
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* The Texas statute refers to victims selected “because of the defendant’s bias or prejudice against a person or group;” no particular groups of persons are named. Berrill (1992, 15) argues that since the law requires police to collect statistics in accordance with the Federal Hate Crimes Statistics Act, which includes sexual orientation, the Texas law includes sexual orientation. The law is so vague, however, that it has been declared unenforceable.
Note: Many hate crime laws were passed in segments, with more areas and groups covered over time. The date of passage listed is the first known year any policy action was taken.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Key: Areas Covered Groups Covered
1 = Bias-Motivated Violence and 6 = Race, Ethnicity, Religion
Intimidation 7 = Sexual Orientation
2 = Civil Action 8 = Gender
3 = Criminal Penalty 9 = Mental or physical disability or handicap
4 = Data Collection**
5 = Training for Law Enforcement
** States with data collection statutes including sexual orientation are AZ, CA, CT, DC, FL, IL, IA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, OR, RI, TX, UT, and WA; these states do not necessarily include sexual orientation in the criminal penalty aspect of their hate crime laws.
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Notes: This table is offered only as a general guide and should not be used as a basis for litigation.
Ó 2000, Donald P. Haider-Markel, University of Kansas
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