The History of Hate Crimes Legislation
“On October 7, 1998, Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old student at the University of Wyoming, was brutally attacked and tied to a fence in a field outside of Laramie, Wyoming and left to die. On October 12, Matt succumbed to his wounds in a hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado.” (Matthew Shepard Foundation, Our Story)
Prior to this horrific event, hate crime legislation was already being created and passed. Matthew’s story and others helped move expansive changes to the legislation. The violence that the LGBTQIA+ community still experiences, especially in the transgender community, shows how much still needs to be done to protect their lives.
After Matthew’s death, vigils were held across the country, including Washington D.C. A poll held by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) at the time found that 56% of American supported the Hate Crimes Prevention Act proposed a year earlier by the 105th Congress. In January 1999, President Clinton listed passing the act as one of his priorities during his State of the Union. A Gallup poll conducted at the same time showed that 75% of Americans believed “homosexuals” should be listed as protected by the act. In July of the same year, the Hate Crimes Prevention Act was passed!
In 2001, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention and Enhancement Acts were introduced into Congress and the Senate. “The legislation would provide federal assistance to states and local jurisdictions to prosecute hate crimes” (Human Rights Campaign, Hate Crimes Timeline). In 2003, 2005, and 2007, the acts had to be reintroduced. Overall, Americans were supportive of adding sexual orientation and gender identity to hate crime laws, as demonstrated by a 2007 Gallup poll. Another poll showed support was high and crossed partisan and racial lines. Both acts finally passed in 2007. An additional amendment named for Matthew Shepard was also added to the Department of Defense Authorization Act by the Senate. President Bush threatened to veto the act if the addition wasn’t removed, forcing the Senate to remove the amendment, and causing the act to, once again, not make it through the legislative process.
In 2009, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act was again introduced in the House and the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act in the Senate. HRC created a website to educate the public on misinformation related to federal hate crimes legislation. The bills were passed and then went to conference committee to work out the differences in the bills. Finally, in October 2009, President Obama signed the now named Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law.
While the progress during the last 11 years is encouraging, there is still more work to do. The HRC reported in 2020, 44 transgender people were murdered; it’s likely that number is much higher due to underreporting or misreporting. HRC has created a list of policy recommendations they hope the Biden Presidency will consider. More progress must be made soon so more lives are not lost.
Sources:
“Fatal Violence Against the Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Community in 2020.” The Human Rights Campaign, www.hrc.org/resources/violence-against-the-trans-and-gender-non-conforming-community-in-2020.
“Hate Crimes Timeline.” The Human Rights Campaign, www.hrc.org/resources/hate-crimes-timeline.
“Our Story.” Matthew Shepard Foundation, 20 May 2020, www.matthewshepard.org/about-us/our-story/.
Yurcaba, Jo. “As Anti-Trans Violence Surges, Advocates Demand Policy Reform.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 11 Mar. 2021, www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/anti-trans-violence-surges-advocates-demand-policy-reform-n1260485.