The Salt Lake Tribune

Salt Lake City, Utah

October 24, 1998

PANEL SAYS BRING HAMMER DOWN ON HATE

Justice Department official says laws are too vague to enforce

By Michael Vigh

The Salt Lake Tribune

The best way to stop hate crime in Utah is to beef up penalties.

That was the message of experts and victims who participated Friday night in a panel discussion in Salt Lake City on ending crimes committed against people based solely on their race, religion, ethnic background or sexual orientation.

A hate-crimes law passed by the 1992 Utah Legislature increases misdemeanors, such as trespassing and assault, to a third-degree felony only if the perpetrator's intent is to deprive the victim of their constitutional rights

"No court judge has ever enforced the hate crime laws because they are too vague. We need to change this, this year," said David Nelson, of the U.S. Department of Justice district of Utah, who helped author the 1992 law.

Added Larry Gerlach, an American History professor at the University of Utah: "Hate-crime laws are the single most important thing we can do to stop these crimes."

Gerlach said that crimes based on prejudice and bigotry in Boston have dropped dramatically since tough hate crime laws were passed in Massachusetts.

The issue of hate crimes reached the national radar screen earlier this month when a University of Wyoming student was lured from a campus hangout, beaten and tied to a split-rail fence in freezing temperatures because he was gay.

The murder of Matthew Shepard, 21, has spurred calls nationwide for hate- crimes legislation protecting gays. President Clinton even pressed Congress to ecpand the federal hate-crimes law to cover offenses based on disability and sexual orientation.

About 50 people attended the two-hour panel discussion as part of the "YWCA's Wee Without Violence." The audience participated in a moment of silence for Shepard before the discussion began. University of Utah sociology Professor Theresa Martinez, who has a gay brother, said she was not surprised to hear of Shepard's murder. She said that gay men die every day because of their sexual orientation and her brother has been the target of abuse and persecution.

"The Matthew Shepard killing is not puzzling to me at all," Martinez said. "We kill what makes us feel uncomfortable, inadequate and insecure."

Nelson, who is also gay, said penalties should be enhanced for perpetrators who target people because they are different.

"These aren't random acts and neither are hate crimes," he said. "The killers of Matthew Shepard will be punished as if they killed for no reason."