From Deseret News archives:
Hate-crimes measure advances
But revamped bill faces uphill battle in the House
Seven Republicans joined the House Judiciary Committee's Democrats in a 10-3 vote.
HB90, sponsored by Rep. David Litvack, is a new approach that lacks the hotly debated protected categories that have stalled similar legislation in the past.
"What it certainly will do is provide accountability . . . to those who are victimized," Litvack told committee members.
The bill would require a judge or the Board of Pardons to consider an aggravating factor when a victim is targeted primarily because of membership, or perceived membership, in a group.
Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said unlike past approaches, the new measure would be an aggravating factor, not an enhancement, meaning that it wouldn't be considered until the sentencing phase.
Weber State University education professor Forrest Crawford said he felt a "different energy" that he hoped would carry the bill forward.
"It sends the message, it gives law enforcement the tools they've asked us for, for the last 10 years," Crawford said.
Unlike past hearings, Friday's lacked both emotional testimony of hate-crime victims and a barrage of criticism by opponents. Those former bills, despite widespread support by law enforcement, repeatedly failed after lawmakers expressed concerns about enhancing penalties for crimes committed against groups categorized by race, color, disability, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, age and gender.
Legislators argued that a "crime is a crime" or that it would hurt crime victims who don't belong to a protected category.
Opponents this go-around said the new bill would do nothing to stop bias- or hate-motivated crimes and worried that it could punish thought.
"It's not going to regulate anything," said Sandra Rodrigues of Midvale.
Rep. Glenn Donnelson, R-North Ogden, worried about what could happen in scuffles involving people of different races in which there are no witnesses.
But Shurtleff said HB90 requires "actual evidence" that a crime was motivated by a person's bias.
"It's only in those cases where there is clear evidence," he said, that a judge would consider the weight of the aggravating factor.
He pointed to a recent attack in Sandy that appears prompted by the assailants' belief the victim and a friend were Mormon missionaries.
"It is more destructive," Shurtleff said. "That wasn't an attack on him, as a victim. It was an attack on a group to which he was perceived to belong."
