Hate crime laws in the United States are state and federal laws which are intended to protect people from hate crimes (also known as bias crimes). While state laws vary, current statutes permit federal prosecution of hate crimes committed on the basis of a person's characteristics such as a person's race, religion, ethnicity, disability, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, and/or gender identity. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and campus police departments are required to collect and publish hate crime statistics.

Federal

Title I of the Civil Rights Act of 1968

Title I of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, enacted (b)(2), permits federal prosecution of anyone who "willfully injures, intimidates or interferes with, or attempts to injure, intimidate or interfere with ... any person because of his race, color, religion or national origin" or because of the victim's attempt to engage in one of six types of federally protected activities, such as attending school, patronizing a public place/facility, applying for employment, acting as a juror in a state court, or voting.

People convicted of violating this law face a fine or imprisonment of up to one year, or both. If bodily injury results or if such acts of intimidation involve the use of firearms, explosives or fire, individuals can receive prison terms of up to 10 years, while crimes involving kidnapping, sexual assault, or murder can be punishable by life in prison or the death penalty. U.S. District Courts provide for criminal sanctions only. The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 contained a provision at which allowed victims of gender-motivated hate crimes to seek "compensatory and punitive damages, injunctive and declaratory relief, and such other relief as a court may deem appropriate".

Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (1994)

The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, enacted in note Sec. 280003, requires the United States Sentencing Commission to increase the penalties for hate crimes committed on the basis of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, or gender of any person. In 1995, the Sentencing Commission implemented these changes to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which only apply to federal crimes.

Church Arson Prevention Act (1996) The S. 1980 (104th): Church Arson Prevention Act of 1996 was introduced to Congress on June 19, 1996, but died because the Senate Committee found some places for improvement of the bill. It was sponsored by Republican Duncan Faircloth. On May 23, 1996, the House of Representatives introduced H.R. 3525 (104th): Church Arson Prevention Act. The Act was passed by both houses in Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton on July 3, 1996. This bill became law number Pub.L. 104–155. It was sponsored by Republican Henry Hyde. The bill was summarized by the Congressional Research Service as follows: "[the Church Arson Prevention Act of 1996] makes Federal criminal code prohibitions against, and penalties for, damaging religious property or obstructing any person's free exercise of religious beliefs applicable where the offense is in, or affects, interstate commerce." One of the changes in the bill was the sentence increase for "defacing or destroying any religious real property because of race, color, or ethnic characteristics..." from 10 to 20 years. It also changed the statute of limitations from five years to seven years after the date the crime was committed. It reauthorizes the Hate Crimes Statistics Act.

Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (2009)

On October 28, 2009, President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, attached to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, which expanded existing United States federal hate crime law to apply to crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability, and dropped the prerequisite that the victim be engaging in a federally protected activity.

Emmett Till Antilynching Act (2022)

On March 29, 2022, President Joe Biden signed the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, which extended the existing federal hate crime law (18 U.S. Code § 245 and § 249) by criminalizing collaborators that helped plan violent acts against victims, when the violence is based on a protected characteristic of the victim. In the case where, for instance, a mob of ten people plan an attack on an African American victim because of the victim's race, and two of the ten kill or seriously injure the victim, the Emmett Till Act extends culpability to the other eight conspirators.

The Emmett Till Act, unlike some other conspiracy-based crimes, requires that the attack be carried outmere planning without subsequent injury or death is not a crime under the Act. Spectators in a mob who watch the violence, but did not participate in the planning, are not culpable under the Emmett Till Act.

State and district Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia have statutes criminalizing various types of bias-motivated violence or intimidation (the exceptions being Arkansas, South Carolina, and Wyoming). Georgia, whose hate crime statute was struck down by the Georgia Supreme Court in 2004, passed a new hate crime law in June 2020. Each of these statutes covers bias on the basis of race, religion, and ethnicity; 34 cover disability; 34 of them cover sexual orientation; 30 cover gender; 24 cover transgender/gender-identity; 14 cover age; 6 cover political affiliation. and 3 along with Washington, D.C. cover homelessness.

Thirty-four states and the District of Columbia have statutes creating a civil cause of action, in addition to the criminal penalty, for similar acts.

Thirty states and the District of Columbia have statutes requiring the state to collect hate crime statistics; 20 of these cover sexual orientation.

+StateClasses coveredSourceRace, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, physical and mental disabilitiesRace, sex, color, creed, physical or mental disability, ancestry, and national originRace, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, and disabilityDisability, gender , nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and "association with a person or group" of one of the other classesRace, color, ancestry, religion, national origin, physical or mental disability, gender identity, and sexual orientationRace, religion, ethnicity, disability, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expressionRace, religion, color, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, and ancestryRace, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibility, homelessness, physical disability, matriculation, and political affiliation of a victimRace, religion, ethnicity, color, ancestry, sexual orientation, and national originRace, color, religion, sex, gender , disability, sexual orientation, national origin, or ethnicityRace, religion, disability, ethnicity, national origin, gender identity or expression, and sexual orientationRace, color, ancestry, religion, and national originRace, color, creed, religion, ancestry, gender , sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, and national origin of another individual or group of individualsColor, creed, disability, national origin, race, religion, and sexual orientationRace, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, political affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, and "the person's association with a person" of one of the other classesRace, color, religion, ethnicity, national origin, and sexual orientationRace, color, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, and employment as a law enforcement officer, firefighter, or emergency service personnelRace, age, gender, religion, color, creed, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, membership or service in, or employment with, an organization, and employment as a law enforcement officer, firefighter, or emergency medical services personnelRace, color, religion, sex, ancestry, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation or gender identityRace, color, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, gender , disability, national origin, and homelessnessRace, religion, ethnicity, disability, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientationRace, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, physical or mental disability, age, ethnicity, or national origin Race, color, religion, sex , sexual orientation, disability, age, and national originRace, color, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender, and employment as a law enforcement officer, firefighter or emergency medical technicianRace, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation , and disabilityRace, creed, religion, color, and national originRace, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, and disabilityRace, color, religion, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, and gender identityReligion, race, creed, sexual orientation, national origin, sex, and gender identity Race, color, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, and ethnicityRace, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, gender, sexual orientation and gender identityRace, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity, religion, religious practice, age, disability, and sexual orientationNew York State Legislature. Consolidated Laws of New York.Race, color, religion, nationality, and country of originSex, race, color, religion, and national origin (applies only to discrimination in public places)Race, ethnic background, and religionRace, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, and disabilityRace, color, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and national originRace, color, religion, and national originDisability, religion, color, race, national origin or ancestry, sexual orientation, and gender Race, ethnicity, religion, ancestry, or national originRace, religion, color, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, and gender Race, color, disability, religion, national origin or ancestry, age, gender, sexual preference, and by status as a peace officer or judgeage, ancestry, disability, ethnicity, familial status, gender identity, homelessness, marital status, matriculation, national origin, political expression, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, military service, status as an emergency responder, law enforcement officer, correctional officer, special function officer, or any other peace officer.Race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age, service in the U.S. Armed Forces, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identityRace, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender, and gender identityRace, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and gender identity Race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, political affiliation, and sexRace, religion, color, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, and ancestry Notes: Gender identity covered

Sexual orientation and gender identity

1983 No LGBT hate crime statute at the state level 1984 California: Sexual orientation covered in hate crime statute 1987 Connecticut: Sexual orientation covered in hate crime statute 1988 Wisconsin: Sexual orientation covered in hate crime statute 1989 Minnesota: Sexual orientation covered in hate crime statute Nevada: Sexual orientation covered in hate crime statute Oregon: Sexual orientation covered in hate crime statute 1990