The Epidemic of Hate Crimes in America

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Within the last 10 years, hate crimes based upon sexual orientation have increased by 30% percent, around 1300 crimes per year, with many more incidents around the United States unreported. Hate crime must be defined by Federal statute and the government afforded the power to enforce sanctions against violators to insure the safety of the American public. Hate crime and hate speech thrive within our country, and can go unnoticed due to insufficient coverage from the media and lack of public interest. Hate continues to ravage our cities everywhere, even in our own backyard. In 2010 alone, there were nearly 10 hate crimes in New Bern, North Carolina, the majority of them violent in nature. In order to ensure the safety of all citizens, hate crime must be defined by federal law. Until then, America’s racists and psychopaths will continue to harm our communities. According to the FBI, a hate crime is “a traditional offense like murder, arson or vandalism with an added element of bias…” (FBI 1) Another possible definition for a hate crime from the Anti Defamation League is “a criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, ethnic origin, or sexual orientation.” Even though there is a definition from the FBI, hate crimes merit no federal classification, and are left up to local governance branches to deliberate. To make matters worse, out of three levels of hate crime, two levels merit attention from a higher court, while the last garners statistic collection and local adjudication. This is owing to the first two categories being classified as violent or extremely malicious, while the third is usually a nonviolent or minor offens... ... middle of paper ... ...Crime." University of Pennsylvania. University of Pennsylvania Press, 6 Feb 2010. Web. 13 Sep 2013. McDevitt, Jack, Jennifer Balboni, Luis Garcia, and Joann Gu. "Consequences for Victims: A Comparison of Bias- and Non-Bias-Motivated Assaults." American Behavioral Scientist 45.4 (2001): 668-96. Print. Sellers, Nathan. "A First Amendment Analysis of Hate-Crime Laws Revisiting Wisconsin v. Mitchell and recommending change ." Creighton University. Creighton University Press, n.d. Web. 16 Sep 2013. Small, Charles Asher. "Comparing Hate Speech Laws In The U.S. And Abroad." Interview by Melissa Block. National Public Radio. Washington, D.C., 3 Mar. 20133. Radio. Transcript. Stotzer, Rebecca. “Comparison of Hate Crime Rates Across Protected and Unprotected Groups.” University of California School of Law. The Williams Institute, June 2007. Web. 10. Sep 2013.

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