Bill Protects Many More From Hate Crimes

Recently a bill was passed to help protect individuals who are victims of hate crimes as a result of their sexual orientation. This was passed in New Jersey and it was backed with a unanimous vote of 35-0.

New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine will be signing the bill, which now covers “gender identity or expression” and "sexual preference" in addition to religion, race, ethnicity and disability.

At a recent Senate Judiciary Committee meeting in New Jersey, Etzion Neuer gave his support for the new bill. Neuer is the director of the Anti-Defamation League for the NJ chapter.

“I am very, very pleased,” Neuer stated. “This passage is exciting because it is an opportunity to see progress. We are seeing our standards being raised, and as a society, we are progressing and setting a standard of higher expectations for law enforcement and our schools."

Although hate and the crimes that result from it are inevitable, laws such as these will hopefully serve as a major deterrent.

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Recent Statistics About Hate Crimes

Last year, roughly ten thousand individuals in the U.S. were victims of hate crimes due to issues regarding skin color, religion, sexual orientation and ethnicity. This information was reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

60 percent of the 9,642 hate crimes that were reported to the FBI were directed at individual people, groups of people, businesses and institutions, while the rest were aimed at property. It is also unfortunate that 13 percent of the crimes were aggravated, which included 3 murders and 6 rape victims.

5,020 victims, which is over 50 percent of those reported, were targeted due to issues involving race. 19% of the incidents resulted in religious differences, which is roughly 1,750 crimes. Many of the attacks were directed at people who were either Jewish or Muslim.

The rest of the statistics involve crimes directed at people because of their sexual orientation or ethnic origin. Keep in mind, also, that these numbers only include those that were reported to the FBI and that not all police departments were able to provide hate crime information.

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Sheriff Joe Will Not Tolerate Hate Crimes

A home in the area of Litchfield Park, AZ, was recently the victim of what sheriff's deputies refer to as a hate crime.

Joe Arpaio, the Maricopa County Sheriff, responded to the incident rather quickly, mentioning that hate crimes will not be tolerated in this county.

"It is critical that anyone with information come forward to speak with my detectives," Arpaio mentioned.

Sheriff Joe took action last November after criminals wrote racist and vulgar phrases on the walls of Walter and Judith Conley's 800,000-dollar home. The Conleys are an African-American married couple in their sixties.

The hate crime, which is unsolved to this day, occurred at a gated community known as Litchfield Farms which is located northeast of Thomas Road and Jackrabbit Trail.

The deputies are now investigating the more recent crime, calling it a "hate-related burglary." This crime occurred at a household off of West Windsor Blvd., a few blocks north of Camelback Road. The home is also in the area of Litchfield Park, according to Detective Charles Scudella.

If you have any information that can be helpful to solving this crime, contact the sheriff's deputies at 602-876-1011.

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I have a book on 35 different crime scenarios and what to do if you are a victim.

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Green Party Wants Legislation For Hate Crimes Regarding Homophobia

As a result of the unfortunate murder of Tony Hoare that occurred 2 weeks ago, the Green Party has once again made a prompt demand for homophobic and transphobic hate crime laws to be introduced.

Mr. Hoare, who was 49 years old, was discovered in Charlton Park of South East London on the 11th of this month. He was found in an unconscious state and later that evening he died in Queen Elizabeth Hospital of Woolwich.

Tony Hoare was the front man for the Stormbreak consultancy, which works in LGBT research. He had recently put out a report entitled, "Homophobic Crime in London" which mentioned that there was a major lack of reporting for homophobic crime in London.

Tony's report discovered: "The main reason for not reporting homophobic crime was because the incident had been considered insufficiently serious. Commonplace verbal abuse, for example, was hardly ever reported. This suggests that the London lesbian and gay community simply puts up with insults, threats and ridicule in public and (as often identified) in the workplace as a fact of everyday life."

Just months ago, the Green Party started a petition on the Prime Minster's Website requesting the addition of certain legislation for homophobic and transphobic hate crimes. This petition currently has approximately 1,000 signatures.

Crime DOES Pay Unless YOU Prevent It!

I have a book on 35 different crime scenarios and what to do if you are a victim.

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Fellow Community Members Support Victims of Hate Crimes

Community groups with members of south Asian American descent have teamed up with several other civil rights organizations to publicize the news of Indian American from San Francisco, CA who had been the subject of a racial assault during a vacation in Lake Tahoe, CA.

"Hate crimes against any individual of any community are absolutely deplorable and when they happen, they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law so the message gets out that this type of incident is not acceptable in our communities," stated Shirin Sinnar, who happens to be the staff attorney for the Asian Law Caucus.

A husband and wife were arraigned on the 22nd of August and charged with hate crimes. 53-year-old Joseph Frank Silva and his wife, Georgia Ruth Silva, 49, were both charged with misdemeanor hate crime charges in El Dorado County Superior Court after the incident that occurred on July 14th of this year. The attack resulted in the victim having broken bones in his face. The couple pleaded not guilty to the charges, and Mr. Silva also pleaded not guilty to felony assault charges.

"I've been involved in hate crimes issues since before 9/11," stated Harmeet K. Dhillon, a member of the civil rights committee of the South Asian Bar Association. "I guess my first reaction to this incident was deep disappointment and sadness that so many years after 9/11, which really triggered this wave of hate crimes against South Asians in this country and northern California, these types of incidents are still happening and, if anything, they seem to be accelerating in terms of their number and level of violence."

It is unfortunate that the world has to hear about issues like this one, but hopefully it will raise awareness about the dangers and consequences that hate crimes can create.