Hate Crimes Commission Act of 2021

The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines “hate crime” to be a criminal offense—such as murder, arson, or vandalism—against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity.

Forty-five States and the District of Columbia have statutes criminalizing various types of bias-motivated violence or intimidation.

The Federal Government has implemented crimes statutes since 1968, with the most recent law enacted in 2009.

In 2019, hate crimes rose by 2.7 percent.

In 2019, there were 51 reported deaths from hate crimes, which is the highest number since the FBI began reporting on this statistic in the early 1990s.

Hate crimes not only damage the individual victim or victims, but also traumatize entire communities and erode public confidence in their safety.

In 2019, hate crimes directed at Latinos increased by almost 9 percent from the year before.

In 2019, hate crimes based on sexual orientation represented 16.7% of total hate crimes that year, and gender identity based hate crimes represented 2.7% of total hate crimes, which was an increase from the year before.

In a September 2020 House Homeland Security Committee testimony, FBI Director Christopher Wray said: “Within the domestic terrorism bucket, the category as a whole, racially motivated violent extremism is, I think, the biggest bucket within that larger group. And within the racially motivated violent extremist bucket, people subscribing to some kind of White supremacist-type ideology is certainly the biggest chunk of that.”.

The largest increase within the 2019 hate crime data was found in anti-Semitic hate crimes, which rose by 14 percent.

In August 2019, an assailant entered a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, to target Hispanics and left 22 dead.

In October 2018, a shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, left 11 dead.

In July 2019, a Hindu priest in New York City was hospitalized after a man attacked him and screamed “this is my neighborhood” during the incident.

In response to the Coronavirus pandemic, Asian Americans have suffered an increasing number of hate crimes. According to Stop AAPI Hate, 2,808 “hate incidents” toward AAPIs were reported between March and December 2020.

In November 2020, a woman shouted anti-Muslim slurs and attacked a couple in New York City, leaving one victim needing surgery for facial fractures.

Many hate crimes go unreported. In 2019, there was a decrease in the number of police agencies providing this data to the FBI, with only 14 percent of police agencies in the country reporting one or more hate crimes that year.

There is a clear need for stronger action to accurately report and effectively combat hate-based attacks.

Establishment— There is established the United States Commission on Hate Crimes (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the “Commission”).

Membership— The Commission shall be composed of 12 members. Membership of the Commission shall be appointed in accordance with the following:

If there has been an increase in hate crimes during the period beginning January 1, 2007, and ending 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

To the extent that any increase in the commission of hate crimes is determined to exist, what factors have contributed to such increase.

What policies or actions law enforcement agencies might adopt or engage in to reduce the commission of hate crimes.

The impact of underreporting on hate crimes statistics and hate crimes prevention.

What community bias prevention responses are successful and possible through coordination with nonprofits, local education agencies, and government entities.