Statement on Hate Crimes Bill Passage

Washington, D.C., April 29th – Congressman Jim Moran, Virginia Democrat, issued the following statement today regarding House passage of legislation extending federal protection to individuals targeted because of their gender, gender identity, sexual orientation and disability, the “Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Protection Act” (H.R. 1913).

“We can’t prevent hate from motivating individuals to commit violence, but we can ensure the proper laws and resources are available to prosecute these cases to the fullest extent,” said Moran. “This bill sends a clear, unequivocal message: violence against people due to personal attributes beyond their control will not be tolerated.” 

Since the federal government began collecting data in 1991, over 100,000 hate crimes have been reported by state and local officials.  Most analysts believe the data significantly underreports the actual number of hate crimes. 

Beyond expanding hate crime protections to gender, gender identity, sexual orientation and disability, the “Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Protection Act” would allow the Justice Department to aid in the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes at the local level, providing technical assistance and funding. The bill would also require the U.S. Department of Justice to expand its tracking of hate crimes to include crimes based on gender or gender identity.  The federal government currently collects data on hate crimes committed due to sexual orientation and disability but not gender or gender identity.

Despite what some opponents of the legislation have stated, the bill does not infringe upon religious and free speech rights:

• Words alone are not a hate crime -- In order to be charged with a hate crime, there must be death or bodily injury.
• Religious speech is protected by the 1st Amendment – the bill contains an explicit provision reiterating that free speech rights are not altered by any provisions in the bill.
• No one has ever been charged with a hate crime for something they said.

The U.S. Senate is expected to act on similar legislation in the coming months.

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