The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act / Matthew Shepard Act
H.R. 1592 / S. 1105
The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act / Matthew Shepard Act gives the Justice Department the power to investigate and prosecute bias-motivated violence by providing the department with jurisdiction over crimes of violence where the perpetrator has selected the victim because of the person's actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.
The LLEHCPA / Matthew Shepard Act provides the Justice Department with the ability to aid state and local jurisdictions either by lending assistance or, where local authorities are unwilling or unable, by taking the lead in investigations and prosecutions of violent crime resulting in death or serious bodily injury that were motivated by bias. The LLEHCPA also makes grants available to state and local communities to combat violent crimes committed by juveniles, train law enforcement officers or to assist in state and local investigations and prosecutions of bias-motivated crimes.
View the LLEHCPA / Matthew Shepard Act Coalition Endorsement list.
Bias Motivated Violent Crime Affects an Entire Community
A hate crime occurs when the perpetrator of the crime intentionally selects the victim because of who the victim is. While violent hate crimes are a widespread and serious problem in our nation, it is not the frequency or number of violent hate crimes alone, that distinguish these acts of violence from other types of crime. A random act of violence resulting in injury or even death is a tragic event that devastates the lives of the victim and their family, but the intentional selection and beating or murder of an individual because of who they are terrorizes an entire community and sometimes the nation. For example, a 2006 Harris Interactive poll found that 64 percent of gays and lesbians are concerned about being the victim of a bias-motivated crime.
Bias Motivated Violent Crime is a Pervasive Community Problem
Evidence indicates that hate crimes are underreported; however, statistics show that since 1991 over 100,000 hate crime offenses have been reported to the FBI, with 7,722 reported in 2006, the FBI’s most recent reporting period.
Violent crimes based on race-related bias were by far the most common, representing 51.8 percent of all offenses for 2006. Violent crimes based on religion represented 18.9 percent and ethnicity/national origin, 12.7 percent. Violent crimes based on sexual orientation constituted 15.5 percent of all hate crimes in 2006, with 1,195 reported for the year. The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP), a non-profit organization that tracks bias incidents against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, reported 1,393 incidents for 2006 from only 13 jurisdictions, compared to the 2,105 agencies reporting to the FBI in 2006.
The LLEHCPA Gives Local Law Enforcement the Tools to Combat Violent Bias Motivated Crime
The importance of the LLEHCPA is that it provides a backstop to state and local law enforcement by allowing a federal prosecution if – and only if – it is necessary to achieve an effective, just result, and to permit federal authorities to assist in investigations. Federal support, in the form of grants for training or through direct assistance will ensure all bias motivated violence is adequately investigated and prosecuted, while at the same time ensuring state and local authorities are not overburdened.
Support for this Legislation is Overwhelming
The bill is endorsed by notable individuals and over 280 law enforcement, civil rights, civic and religious organizations, including: President George H.W. Bush’s Attorney General Dick Thornburgh; National Sheriffs’ Association; International Association of Chiefs of Police; U.S. Conference of Mayors; Presbyterian Church; Episcopal Church; and the Parent’s Network on Disabilities. Polls have consistently demonstrated broad public support for hate crimes legislation. A 2007 Hart Research poll showed large majorities of every major subgroup of the electorate — including such traditionally conservative groups as Republican men (56 percent) and evangelical Christians (63 percent) — expressed support for strengthening hate crimes laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity. Support also crosses racial lines — with three in four whites (74 percent), African-Americans (74 percent) and Latino/as (72 percent) supporting the Act.
Legislative Status of the LLEHCPA
Both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives voted in favor of legislation to combat bias-motivated violence in 2007. On May 3, 2007, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1592 by a vote of 237-180, with 25 Republicans voting yes.
The Senate version, the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (S. 1105), was introduced on April 12, 2007, by Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Gordon Smith (R-OR) with 40 bipartisan co-sponsors. Senator Kennedy and Senator Smith filed the Matthew Shepard Act as an amendment to the Department of Defense Authorization bill (H.R. 1585). On September 27, 2007, the Senate voted 60-39 for cloture which closed debate on the amendment. The Matthew Shepard Act was adopted by voice vote and added to the Department of Defense (DoD) Authorization bill.
The hate crimes provision was not included in the final version of the DoD bill. The DoD bill fell victim to House opponents of hate crimes as well as unrelated concerns regarding Iraq-related provisions of the bill. The hate crimes veto threat issued by the White House and organized opposition by House Republican Leadership cost significant numbers of votes on the right. Iraq-related provisions that many progressive Democrats opposed cost votes on the left. Moderate Democrats, many of whom voted for the hate crimes bill in May, did not want to test the President’s veto threat and risk a delay in increased pay for military personnel. All of these factors resulted in insufficient votes to secure passage of the bill with the hate crimes provision.
Last Updated: Wednesday, May 14, 2008