Hate Crimes, Explained

via [ Southern Poverty Law Center]
"Each year, across America, an average of 250,000 people are victimized by hate crimes – criminal expressions of bigotry at terrorize entire communities and fray the social fabric of our country.

As defined by the FBI, a hate crime is a violent or property crime – such as murder, arson, assault or vandalism – that is “motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity.”
Nine out of 10 hate crimes involve violence, and in a quarter of the cases, the offender has a weapon.

VIEW THE FBI’S MOST RECENT HATE CRIME REPORT
The federal government and 45 states – all but Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, South Carolina and Wyoming – have enacted hate crime laws that enhance penalties for an underlying crime. The laws differ in significant ways. All cover bias based on race, ethnicity or religion, but many do not include gender, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity.

The FBI releases a hate crime report each year – typically showing between 5,000 and 6,000 – but it vastly understates the extent of the problem for several reasons..".
Hate crimes