State Rep. Kevin Boyle on Dec. 5 reintroduced legislation to strengthen the state’s hate crimes law. Boyle’s bill would expand the offense of ethnic intimidation to include malicious intention against the actual or perceived ancestry, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity of an individual or group of individuals.
“We must ensure that everyone in Pennsylvania is covered under the state’s hate crime law,” Boyle said.
Boyle said that the bill is necessary because in 2008 the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that a 2002 law that protected individuals based on their actual or perceived ancestry, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity was unconstitutional. Boyle noted that the court’s ruling had nothing to do with the merits of the hate crimes law. Rather, the court found that the original bill (H.B. 1493) had been amended so as to change its original purpose, in violation of the state constitution.
“It’s a shame that this law was removed on a technicality,” Boyle said. “This language was enacted in 2002 and should have been state law for the past 12 years.
“Unfortunately, while Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams shares that opinion, current state law does not give him the opportunity to charge the attackers with a hate crime,” Boyle added. “We need to update our state’s hate crimes law to properly punish these horrendous crimes and hopefully prevent them in the future.” ••
