Hate-crime law: S.L. Demo to try 4th time

In the political strategy game, nearly every possible tactic has been used over the past seven years in trying to get a tougher hate-crimes law on the books in Utah.

There have been in-your-face rallies on the Capitol steps and heated public debates, as well as more than a few quiet, back-room meetings trying to win the hearts, minds and votes of Utah's lawmakers.

In the 2004 legislative session that starts Monday, Rep. David Litvack, D-Salt Lake, will try again, his fourth attempt at passing a bill that expands the existing law. This year's strategy enlists the help of two groups from outside the Beehive State — the New York City-based Anti-Defamation League and the Matthew Shepard Foundation of Casper, Wyo., as represented by that young murder victim's mother, Judy Shepard.

"I don't know how much that is a strategy," Litvack said. "It's really about making sure the community is in touch with what's going on and make sure that this is an issue on the community radar screen. I think that it already is, but we need to find ways of reminding (the community) to keep it on their legislators' radar screen."

Utah voters themselves don't need to be convinced that such a measure might have merits: Repeated polls by Dan Jones & Associates for the Deseret Morning News and KSL-TV have shown that voters support hate-crimes laws.

In the latest such poll, nearly 69 percent of Utah voters surveyed said they favor some sort of hate-crimes legislation. Of those, 24 percent said they favor a law that includes the groups listed in Litvack's bill, while 18 percent said they would prefer a bill that was based only on prejudice or bigotry.

Only 24 percent of those polled said they oppose all hate-crimes laws. The poll surveyed 408 households across the state and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent.

Last year Litvack partnered with the self-described conservative Rep. Jim Ferrin, R-Orem, in what is the effort's most notable and successful run on Capitol Hill. Litvack and Ferrin got the bill past the House, though within 24 hours it was called back and killed.

As in 2003, Litvack's HB68 seeks to establish a criminal penalty enhancement of one step for those who commit crimes out of hatred or bias. As in previous years, the bill includes a list of protected groups, including "race, color, disability, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, age, or gender of any individual or group or persons whether actual or perceived."