Hate crimes are acts or threats of violence based on the actual or perceived race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender or disability of those targeted. Hate crimes have been said to be acts of domestic terrorism because often, the perpetrator’s intention is to intimidate and terrorize all members of a group. Human rights advocates say the problem is sufficiently serious and widespread as to warrant federal assistance to local law enforcement agencies. Critics of hate crime laws claim they are unconstitutional because they criminalize a defendant’s thought process. However, our Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of these laws.

Police recorded crime figures in 2022/23 show that there were 145,214 offences where one or more of the centrally monitored hate crime strands were deemed to be a motivating factor. Hate crimes most frequently target Black and Jewish individuals and LGBTQ+ people. An estimated 25,000 hate crimes in the U.S. involve a firearm every year according to an analysis of data from 2010 to 2021. Another Bureau of Justice Statistics estimate indicates more than 10,300 hate crimes involving the use or threatened use of a firearm occur annually.


Proposed Legislation: Reintroduction of S.2776 - Disarm Hate Act (118th Congress 2023-2024)
Prospective Sponsor: Sen. Mazie Hirono (HI)