Hate-crime bill is back again

Attorney General Mark Shurtleff says the key to enforceable hate-crime legislation is protecting society as a whole, not protecting special interest groups.

Shurtleff was among a coalition of law enforcement officers and prosecutors who held a press conference Monday at the state Capitol complex, supporting efforts to enhance penalties for crimes based on bias or prejudice.

The bill, SB181, co-sponsored by Sens. Greg Bell, R-Fruit Heights, and Karen Hale, D-Salt Lake, goes before the Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Standing Committee today.

"We as a society punish those crimes that are the most serious with the greatest penalty," Shurtleff said. "We are here to protect everybody."

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, said the bill is discriminatory and if he has his way, it will die in his committee.

"This identifies groups of people and is drawing lines around them, giving them benefits," Buttars said. "I think it's wrong."

Over the years, the bill has had law enforcement support; it has also consistently failed.

SB181 also has public support, according to a statewide Deseret Morning News/KSL-TV poll conducted Jan. 31 to Feb. 3. Some 63 percent of the 406 people said they favored the bill, and 32 percent opposed it. The poll's margin of error was 5 percent.

The bill would enhance penalties for crimes based on bias or prejudice based on perceived or actual attributes including race, color, disability, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, age or gender.

The penalty would be enhanced by one step. For example, a class A misdemeanor would be prosecuted as a third-degree felony.

Paul Boyden, executive director of the Statewide Association of Legislators, said Utah's 1992 hate-crime law is virtually unenforceable because it requires proving an intent to deny constitutional rights — such as voting.

Many of those at Monday's news conference expressed optimism that this will be the year the legislation passes. The bill will have to make it out of committee first.

Buttars said he has opposed the legislation from the beginning because all crimes are based on hate, so adding a "hate" enhancement makes no sense.

"Don't you think when anybody goes and beats the tar out of somebody else, there's hate involved? I do," Buttars said.

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com