Title: Stop Hate Crimes Act of 2021
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Stop Hate Crimes Act of 2021
This bill lowers the statutory burden of proof for showing intent with respect to a federal hate crime offense.
Current law makes it unlawful to willfully cause bodily injury, or attempt to do so using a dangerous weapon, because of the actual or perceived protected characteristic (e.g., race) of a person. In 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that the because of standard requires proof that a person's actual or perceived protected characteristic was the sole motivating factor in the offense.
This bill replaces the because of standard with a new standard. Specifically, willfully causing bodily injury, or attempting to do so using a dangerous weapon, is a hate crime offense if a person's actual or perceived protected characteristic was a contributory motivating factor in the offense.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2416 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2416

To amend title 18, United States Code, to clarify the causation element 
       in the Federal hate crime statute, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 8, 2021

  Mr. Lieu (for himself, Mrs. McBath, Mr. Ruiz, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. 
 Takano, Ms. Escobar, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mrs. Hayes, Ms. Chu, Mr. 
Castro of Texas, Mr. Cicilline, Mr. Horsford, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Ms. 
Bass, Mrs. Demings, Mr. Swalwell, Mr. Deutch, Mr. Neguse, Ms. Williams 
  of Georgia, Mr. Blumenauer, Ms. Meng, Mr. Correa, Mr. Panetta, Ms. 
 Velazquez, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, and 
 Ms. Matsui) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to clarify the causation element 
       in the Federal hate crime statute, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Stop Hate Crimes Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION AS TO CAUSATION ELEMENT IN HATE CRIMES.

    Section 249(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding subparagraph 
        (A)--
                    (A) by striking ``because of'' and inserting 
                ``if''; and
                    (B) by inserting after ``origin of any person'' the 
                following: ``was a contributory motivating factor for 
                causing or attempting to cause such injury''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2)(A), in the matter preceding clause 
        (i)--
                    (A) by striking ``because of'' and inserting 
                ``if''; and
                    (B) by inserting after ``disability of any person'' 
                the following: ``was a contributory motivating factor 
                for causing or attempting to cause such injury''.
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