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David Ray Hate Crimes Prevention Act
The David Ray Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 (H.R. 254) or David's Law, was a bill first introduced in the United States House of Representatives on January 7, 2009, by Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee of Texas. It was designed to enhance Federal enforcement of laws regarding hate crimes, and to specifically make sexual orientation, like race and gender, a protected class. The bill stated that existing Federal law was inadequate to address violence motivated by race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, or disability of the victim. It called for the revision of Section 246* of title 18 of the United States Code as well as the addition of a subsection outlining the punishment for anyone found guilty of a hate crime.

- The impact of hate crimes is larger than that of crimes associated with general victimization because it attacks the

History
Outline of Contribution:


 * i. - In the eyes of the law it is difficult to determine rather or not crimes are actually hate crimes because motives are difficult to figure out.
 * - In California there was an increase in crimes committed against Asians that were motivated by religious, racial, or ethnic prejudices.”
 * - Politicians think hate crimes that are most prominent typically aren’t the best examples of hate crimes. The situations are always deeper than just being sexist, homophobic, or racist.


 * ii. - In the 1990s, hate crimes/bias crimes gained the attention of policymakers, community activists, and and social scientists.


 * iii. - In the late 1970s, crimes due to racism, prejudice, and discrimination apparently were perceived to be escalating and state legislators began to create at least one piece of hate crime law.
 * The first hate crime law was passed in California in 1978 and it explained the criminal penalties against civil rights violations and ethnic intimidation.
 * Every region in the United States now has a law against hate crimes.
 * iv. Crimes against gay men and lesbians are said to be the most severe form of hate crimes.
 * Hate crimes are often not reported which makes it difficult for statistics to be gathered to connect hate crimes to things like location, etc.

Addition to main section of the hate crime
Statistics show that minority groups are the main victims of hate crimes. .....Crimes against gay men and lesbians are said to be the most severe form of hate crimes.

Legal Hate Crime History
State legislators began to [introduce?] hate crime laws starting in the 1970s to address racism, prejudice, and discrimination [that escalated into?]. The first law against hate crimes was passed in 1978 in California [did it have a name?]. This law explained the penalties of civil rights being violated and ethnic intimidation [awk]. In California, there was an increase in crimes committed against Asians based on their race, religion, and ethnicity [when?]. There was said [by who?] to be a rise in hate crimes as of 1985 at the same time that policies against hate crimes were being created. In 1990, President George Bush signed the Hate Crime Statistics Act which allowed analysis of hate crimes that occur across the country. However, hate crimes are often not reported which makes it difficult for statistics to be gathered and compared with other statistics. After the rise of hate crimes in 1985 [across the country?], hate crimes and bias crimes started to receive the attention [reorder to avoid p.v.] of policymakers, community activists, and social scientists. It is difficult in the eyes of the law to determine what crimes are actually considered hate crimes because motives are difficult to figure out.

It is not clear how effective hate crime legislation has been because although all states record hate crime data, state legislators have different definitions of hate crimes so it is hard to compare the statistics.

Explanations

 * 1) Minority groups are victims of hate crimes the most.
 * 2) Crimes against gay men and lesbians experience the most violent form of hate crimes.
 * 3) The "hate" against people based on their race and other characteristics caused state legislators to create hate crimes in the 1970s.
 * 4) The first law against hate crimes was created in 1978 in California.
 * 5) Asians were victims of hate crimes in California.
 * 6) Hate crimes and law creation are inversely proportional.
 * 7) George Bush signed the Hate Crime Statistics Act which basically allowed states to record hate crimes. for statistical purposes.
 * 8) Hate crimes are not reported making it nearly impossible to gather and compare statistics.
 * 9) After 1985, policymakers took an interest to hate crimes.
 * 10) The definition of hate crimes differ by state.

Addition to main section of the hate crime
Statistics show that minority groups are the main victims of hate crimes. Crimes against gay men and lesbians are said, by researches in Los Angeles County, to be the most severe form of hate crimes.

Legal Hate Crime History
State legislators began to introduce hate crime laws starting in the 1970s to address racism, prejudice, and discrimination that escalated into more violent crimes. The first state law against hate crimes, titled California Section 190.2, was passed in 1978 in California. This statute's sole purpose was the enhance the penalty of crimes that were motivated by prejudice due to race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and disability, etc. In California, there was an increase in crimes committed against Asians based on their race, religion, and ethnicity based on a survey conducted by a spokesperson of the National LGBTQ Task Force(NGLTF). Research studies conducted by George Comstock in 1991 demonstrated that there was an increase in hate crimes as of 1985 at the same time that policies against hate crimes were being created. In 1990, President George Bush signed the Hate Crime Statistics Act which allowed analysis of hate crimes that occur across the country. However, hate crimes are often not reported which makes it virtually impossible to gather statistics and compare these statistics with other statistics. Hate crimes and bias crimes started to receive the attention of policy makers, community activists, and social scientists after there was a rise of hate crimes across the country in 1985. Hate crime convictions do not occur frequently because when crime investigations occur, motives are tough to figure out in the eyes of the law.

It is not clear how effective hate crime legislation has been because although all states record hate crime data, state legislators have different definitions of hate crimes so it is hard to compare the statistics.

Hate crime laws in the United States

Hate crime

Hate Crime Statistics Act