Editorial

The need for a hate-crimes law
© 2008 Philadelphia Gay News

According to the FBI, 1,195 crimes in 2006 were motivated by the victims’ sexual orientation; the Pennsylvania State Police reported that 18 of those crimes occurred in the Keystone State. Although 18 crimes may seem like a pittance compared to the rampant shootings and robberies across the state, especially in Philadelphia, each of those incidents points to a larger, more systemic problem.

When an LGBT individual is attacked because of his or her sexual orientation, the perpetrator is exhibiting a mindset that has been muddled by the effects of institutionalized homophobia.

The American Psychological Association has stated that “most hate crimes are carried out by otherwise law-abiding young people who see little wrong with their actions. The main determinant appears to be personal prejudice, a situation that colors people’s judgment, blinding the aggressors to the immorality of what they are doing.”

Last week, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court failed to lift the blindfold from these aggressors when it upheld a lower court ruling to exclude sexual orientation, gender identity, gender, ancestry and mental and physical disability as protected classes under the state’s Ethnic Intimidation Act.

The hate-crimes measure was added as an amendment to a 2002 agricultural-vandalism bill. The Supreme Court and lower court did not strike the amendment because of its content, but rather because of a legislative technicality: The courts found that the amendment changed the original intention of the bill, thus putting it in violation of the state constitution’s rules for the legislative process.

Because of a legislative glitch, thousands of LGBT and non-gender-conforming Pennsylvanians are left open to threats and, in the worst cases, violence. While a crime is a crime and the perpetrator should be punished no matter the motivation, hate-crimes legislation that would mandate stricter sentencing could help to open the eyes of those whose perception is skewed by their prejudice, showing them that violence against all people — the LGBT community included — will have measurable consequences. To get to that point, Pennsylvania lawmakers must make passing an inclusive hate-crimes measure a legislative priority. Our leaders could look to the victims of the 18 local anti-LGBT incidents — who likely represent hundreds of LGBT individuals who did not report bias-motivated crimes, but whose lives were interrupted by the pervasive and dangerous effects of blind prejudice.