Action Requested:
No action requested at this time. HSLDA will continue to monitor this issue as it moves on to the Senate as S 909.

Background:
H.R. 1913 is a federal hate crimes bill. It will (1) create for the first time a federal hate crime defined as “bodily injury to any person or… attempts to cause bodily injury to any person, because of the actual or perceived religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of any person”; (2) provide federal support to state, local, or tribal law enforcement agencies if the agency requests federal support in prosecuting hate crimes; and (3) authorize the federal government to prosecute hate crimes if a state does not intend to prosecute the crime, or if the verdict or sentence under state charges “left demonstratively unvindicated the federal interest in eradicating bias-motivated violence.”

H.R. 1913 was passed on Wednesday April 29, 2009 in the House by a vote of 249–175. The Senate version of the bill was introduced on April 28, 2009 by Senator Kennedy from Massachusetts.

Status:

4/2/2009		Introduced
4/2/2009		Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary
4/20/2009		Committee hearing held.
4/22/2009		Committee consideration and Mark-Up session held. Passed by Committee by the yeas and nays: 15-12.
4/29/2009		Passed/agreed to in House. Status: On passage Passed by recorded vote: 249–175

The House of Representatives passed “hate crimes” legislation (H.R. 1913) on April 29, 2009, by a vote of 249–175. The Senate voted on July 16, 2009 to add the Matthew Shepard Act as an amendment to the Department of Defense authorization bill (63–28 vote). The amended Department of Defense bill then passed the Senate on July 23, 2009. The Senate and House versions of the bill must now be reconciled in a conference committee before being sent to the president’s desk.

Sponsor: John Conyers (MI)

Co-sponsors: 42

Bill Summary and Status H.R. 1913

HSLDA’s Position:
Oppose.

Talking points:
H.R. 1913 will create federal offenses for crimes motivated by the “actual or perceived” sexual orientation or gender identity of any person. Sexual orientation and gender identity will be made a federally protected class under existing hate crimes laws. This legislation could create a dangerous precedent in Congress that could lead to future legislation that would restrict religious speech concerning homosexuality.

H.R. 1913 is unnecessary. Violent crimes are already being prosecuted. Furthermore, recent FBI statistics show that crimes motivated by hatred or bias against a trait of the victim are decreasing. Forty-five states and the District of Columbia already have some form of hate crimes law. States which do not have hate crimes laws still prosecute the crimes under existing criminal laws. A federal hate crimes bill would only increase the control and scope of the federal government.

Although H.R. 1913 prosecutes only “crime of violence” and does not prosecute expressions or opinions, it opens the door to examining the thoughts of not only a criminal, but everyone with whom he or she may have come into contact. An overzealous prosecutor could turn a criminal prosecution into a political correctness prosecution. Broadly written hate crimes bills in other states and countries have been used to restrict the freedom of politically incorrect and unpopular speech. This bill could be used to advance the politically correct agenda in this country by providing greater protections for certain classes of people. Future legislation could expand these protections and place restrictions on religious liberty and free speech.