Hate Crime Victims
In the United States, racist anti-black bias is the most frequently reported hate crime motivation. Of the 8,208 hate crimes reported to the FBI in 2010, 48.2% were race related - with 70.0% of those having an anti-black bias. Other frequently reported bias motivations were anti-Hispanic, anti-Jewish, anti-Islamic, anti-white, and against a person's sexual orientation.
High profile murders motivated by the victims' sexual orientation have prompted the passage of hate crimes legislation, notably the cases of Sean W. Kennedy and Matthew Shepard. Kennedy was mentioned by Senator Gordon Smith in a speech on the floor of the US Senate while advocating such legislation. The Matthew Shepard and James E. Byrd Jr. Hate crime Prevention Act was signed into law on October 28, 2009 by President Obama. It included sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, the disabled and military personnel and their family members. This is the first all-inclusive bill ever passed in the United States, taking 45 years to complete.
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Famous quotes containing the words hate, crime and/or victims:
“I hate all men, the ones because they are mean and vicious, and the others for being complaisant with the vicious ones.”
—Molière [Jean Baptiste Poquelin] (1622–1673)
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“In all sincerity, we offer to the loved ones of all innocent victims over the past 25 years, abject and true remorse. No words of ours will compensate for the intolerable suffering they have undergone during the conflict.”
—Combined Loyalist Military Command. New York Times, p. A12 (October 14, l994)