This entry includes information about hate crime legislation status in Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and U.S. Federal law.
In July 2008 the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down the 2002 expansion of the Ethnic Intimidation Act that protected people from crimes based on physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity. The case that led to striking down the law involved the picketing of a gay and lesbian street festival and teaching that homosexuality is a sin. The Law was struck down on the basis of the procedure that the legislature used to pass it.
As of May 2008 the expansion of the Rhode Island place an expansion of it’s hate crime legislation to cover disability on the Calendar after a subcommittee recommended passage.
In December 2007, Illinois Senator Barrack Obama released the following statement:
U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today released the following statement after House and Senate Conferees failed to include the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. Obama is an original cosponsor of the legislation, which would strengthen the federal government’s ability to assist local authorities in the investigation and prosecution of crimes motivated by hate and which would provide additional funds to states to develop hate crime prevention programs. The Act would have also expanded the definition of a hate crime to include those crimes perpetrated because of sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and disability. The amendment originally passed the Senate in September.
Tags: Disability Hate Crimes, Obama
