"A criminal act or attempted criminal act against an individual or group of individuals because of their actual or perceived race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, or disability."
LA County District Attorney's Office
A crime is an act deemed to be illegal, it becomes a hate crime when it is motivated by bias or prejudice against a person or people perceived to be a part of a group, and that is intended to induce fear, scare, terrify or cause psychological harm. Victims of hate crimes often continue to feel threatened long after an attack due to being targeted simply because of who they are. These crimes victimize everyone - individuals and our entire community.
On October 28, 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. This mesaure expanded federal hate crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.
The following activities are examples of crimes that qualify as hate crimes if motivated by the victim’s actual or perceived group identity:
- Physically assaulting someone while using derogatory racial, sexual, etc. words
- Vandalism or “hate” graffiti directed toward a group where it will be seen by members of the targeted group, e.g. painting a swastika on a Jewish temple.
- Burning a cross on the lawn of a black couple.