Greetings,

Obama signs hate crimes bill, but we still have work to do

Today President Barack Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Triangle Foundation whole-heartedly applauds the President for signing this long over-due act. Sadly, though, Michigan laws remain less inclusive.

The Federal hate crimes provision, named after two victims of hate crimes, is part of the fiscal year 2010 defense authorization bill and will extend federal hate crimes law to include crimes motivated by a victim's gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

This law is undoubtedly a step in the right direction, but it still leaves a gap between state and federal policy. Unless a crime motivated by gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or disability was severe enough to be tried in federal court, state law doesn’t allow it to be charged as a hate crime.

House Bill 4836 was passed in May, which would include crimes based on gender, sexual orientation and disability. The bill has been sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee for approval. Senate Bill 497, which is in the Senate Judiciary Committee and has not been scheduled for a hearing, also would include crimes based on gender, sexual orientation and disability.

What are we waiting for?

Leaders in Michigan need to follow the precedent set today by our President. Remember – Michigan had the third highest number of reported hate crimes in 2007, the most recent year FBI data was released. Our work is far from over.

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