Legal Definitions - Matthew Shepard Act

The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act is a federal law in the United States that expands the scope of federal hate crime legislation.

Before this Act, federal hate crime laws primarily covered crimes motivated by a victim's race, color, religion, or national origin. The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act broadened this protection to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived:

• Gender
• Sexual Orientation
• Gender Identity
• Disability

This law also gives federal authorities greater power to investigate and prosecute hate crimes, even when state or local authorities choose not to, or are unable to, pursue charges. It provides federal assistance to state and local law enforcement agencies for investigating and prosecuting hate crimes and for preventing such crimes.

Here are some examples illustrating how this Act applies:

• Example 1: Targeting based on Sexual Orientation

  Imagine a situation where a group of individuals physically assaults someone after seeing them holding hands with a same-sex partner, shouting derogatory slurs related to their perceived sexual orientation during the attack. Because the motivation for the assault was clearly linked to the victim's perceived sexual orientation, this incident could be investigated and prosecuted as a hate crime under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The Act allows federal authorities to step in if state prosecution is insufficient or unavailable, ensuring that crimes motivated by anti-LGBTQ+ bias are addressed.

• Example 2: Vandalism based on Gender Identity

  Consider a community center that hosts support groups for transgender individuals. If vandals repeatedly deface the center's property with hateful messages specifically targeting transgender people, causing significant damage and creating an atmosphere of fear, this could fall under the Act. The persistent nature of the vandalism and the explicit anti-transgender messages demonstrate that the property damage is motivated by gender identity bias, making it a potential federal hate crime, even if the primary offense is property destruction.

• Example 3: Assault based on Disability

  Suppose an individual who uses a wheelchair is verbally harassed and then intentionally pushed down a ramp, causing injury, by someone who mocks their disability during the assault. The attacker's actions and words clearly indicate that the victim was targeted specifically because of their disability. This incident could be prosecuted as a hate crime under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, as the law protects individuals from violence motivated by their actual or perceived disability.