Measure aims to beef up hate-crime laws

HB85 has a message for Utah criminals motivated by hate: This is not the place.

Sponsored by Rep. David Litvack, D-Salt Lake, the bill seeks to amend existing hate-crime law to provide stiffer sentences for those whose crimes are motivated by bias or prejudice.

The bill directs the courts to increase the penalty for the crime one step — for example, from a class B misdemeanor to a class A, or from a second- to a first-degree felony.

"This is about accountability for those who commit crimes solely out of hatred," Litvack said at a Monday press conference.

Utah has its fair share of these crimes, Litvack said. Statistically, as many as 120 have been reported in a single year. But current statutes have been called too vague and difficult to enforce by police and prosecutors.

HB85 would not trample a person's constitutional right to think what they want but would give police and prosecutors a tool to use when they act on those thoughts against another person or group of people.

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said hate crimes have a far greater impact than most people realize.

"When someone commits a hate crime, that crime is against everybody . . . everybody of that race, everybody of that religion, everybody of that gender," Shurtleff said Monday.

Under HB85, prosecutors would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the race, color, disabilities, religion, sexual orientation, ancestry, age or gender of the victim was a motivating factor in the crime.

Litvack has the support of the Catholic Diocese and other religious groups, as well as gay and lesbian groups and Hispanic activists.

This will be the sixth run at getting a beefed-up hate crimes bill into Utah law. Litvack has twice carried versions of the bill, and the now-deceased Sen. Pete Suazo tried and failed three times before his death in an ATV accident in August 2001. His wife, Alicia, who completed her husband's term, also attempted the bill.

The historical argument against hate-crimes legislation has been that it seeks to create a protected class of people. Legislators have not wanted to do that. However, even versions of the bill that did not include specific group definitions were not passed.

Litvack argues, however, that the bill does not create any legal status or rights that don't already exist in law.

Some have said that including sexual orientation in the bill has hampered its progress because the mostly Republican and Mormon Legislature does not endorse or support homosexuality.

But bill co-sponsor Rep. Jim Ferrin, R-Orem, says HB85 is not about promoting a homosexual political agenda but is about fairness and equal protections for everyone.

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E-MAIL: jdobner@desnews.com