Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act
American hate crime legislation / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act is a landmark United States federal law, passed on October 22, 2009,[1] and signed into law by President Barack Obama on October 28, 2009,[2] as a rider to the National Defense Authorization Act for 2010 (H.R. 2647). Conceived as a response to the murders of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr., both in 1998, the measure expands the 1969 United States federal hate-crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.[3]
Quick Facts Other short titles, Long title ...
Other short titles | Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 |
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Long title | To provide Federal assistance to States, local jurisdictions, and Indian tribes to prosecute hate crimes, and for other purposes. |
Enacted by | the 111th United States Congress |
Announced in | the 111th United States Congress |
Number of co-sponsors | 120 |
Codification | |
Titles amended | 18 U.S.C.: Crimes and Criminal Procedure |
U.S.C. sections created | 18 U.S.C. ch. 13 § 249 et seq. |
Legislative history | |
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The bill also:
- Removes, in the case of hate crimes related to the race, color, religion, or national origin of the victim, the prerequisite that the victim be engaging in a federally protected activity, like voting or going to school;
- Gives federal authorities greater ability to engage in hate crimes investigations that local authorities choose not to pursue;
- Provides $5 million per year in funding for fiscal years 2010 through 2012 to help state and local agencies pay for investigating and prosecuting hate crimes;
- Requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to track statistics on hate crimes based on gender and gender identity (statistics for the other groups were already tracked).[4][5]