The institutionalization of hate crime laws and data collection in recent decades has occurred during an era of increasing specialization of criminal law and policing generally. Hate crime statutes punish the discriminatory selection of crime victims because of an actual or perceived characteristic like race or sexual orientation. Forty-five states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government have enacted these statutes, but enforcement of these laws and the groups covered by them varies significantly. As hate crime laws became ubiquitous, the debate surrounding them has shifted away from their constitutionality and legitimacy, to the groups the laws should protect. The most vigorous debate respecting hate crime coverage now focuses on America’s widely victimized, stereotyped and vulnerable homeless population. This article analyzes hate crime laws, as well as the relevant issues relating to including homelessness in them.
Federal Bureau of Investigation. (1999-2014). Hate crimes in the United States [Annual Report]: 2000-2013. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
10.
FerberA. (2009). Gender, privilege, and the politics of hate. In Blazak (Ed.), Hate crimes: Vol. Hate crime offenders (pp. 69-84). Westport, CT: Praeger.
11.
Hate Crime Sentencing Enhancement Act, 28 U.S.C. § 994 (1994).
12.
Hate Crime Statistics Act of 1990, 28 U.S.C. § 534 (1990).
LevinB. (1999). Hate crime: Worse by definition. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 15, 6-21.
15.
LevinB. (2002). From slavery to hate crime laws: The emergence of race and status-based protection in American criminal law. Journal of Social Issues, 58, 227-245.
16.
MatthewShepardByrdJamesJr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, 18 U.S.C. §249 (2009).
17.
McDevittJ.LevinJ.BennettS. (2002). Hate crime offenders: An expanded typology. Journal of Social Issues, 58, 303-317.
National Institute Against Prejudice and Violence. (1986). Striking back at bigotry. Baltimore, MD: Author.
21.
National Institute Against Prejudice and Violence. (1988). Striking back at bigotry. Baltimore, MD: Author.
22.
O’KeefeK. (2010). Protecting the homeless under vulnerable victim sentencing guidelines: An alternative to inclusion in hate crime laws. William and Mary Law Review, 52(1), 301-326. Retrieved from http://wmlawreview.org/sites/default/files/okeefe.pdf
23.
R.A.V. v. St. Paul, 505 U.S. 377 (1992).
24.
RosenbergD.LiebermanM. (1999). Hate crime laws: 2000. New York, NY: Anti-Defamation League.
25.
State v. Mann, 13 N.C. 263 (1830).
26.
SteinerS. (2009, September-October). Habitations of cruelty: The pitfalls of expanding hate crime legislation to include the homeless. Criminal Law Bulletin, 45(4). Retrieved from http://works.bepress.com/scott_steiner/1/
