RESOLUTION

Encouraging passage of legislation to amend Virginia law to enhance penalties for hate crimes committees on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity:

WHEREAS, hate crimes committed against gays, lesbians, and bisexuals make up the third-largest category of hate crimes reported to the FBI;

WHEREAS, Congress held this past July hearings to amend federal law to include sexual orientation, gender and disability and to expand federal law enforcement jurisdiction through the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, but has not brought the measure up for vote; and

WHEREAS, University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard’s murder on October 9, 1998 is yet another instance in a long history of hate crimes directed against gays, lesbians, and bisexuals; and

WHEREAS, only 21 states and the District of Columbia include sexual orientation-based crimes in their hate crimes statutes; and

WHEREAS Virginia has failed to pass legislation to add sexual orientation and gender to Virginia’s hate crimes laws; and

WHEREAS the results of a Virginia State Crime Commission study documented fifty-eight anti-gay hate crimes in Virginia during 1997; and

WHEREAS hate crimes are not simply a problem of far-away towns and cities, but one that is local as well; and

WHEREAS it is a matter of documented public record that Charlottesville resident, James Evan Kittredge was kidnapped, brutally beaten, and left for dead in the trunk of his car on November 1, 1996; and

WHEREAS, in the perpetrators’ own words, this act of violence was motivated by anti-gay hatred; and

WHEREAS the Charlottesville City Council does deplore the acts of violence and inhumanity that led to Matthew Shepard’s death and James Evan Kittredge’s beating;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHARLOTTESVILLE that we do encourage the Legislative Delegation of the City of Charlottesville to support passage of hate crimes legislation in the Virginia General Assembly that includes sexual orientation in the categories of individuals for whom penalties for crimes intentionally directed at them are enhanced. We also encourage the Virginia State Congressional Delegation to support passage of the federal Hate Crimes Prevention Act.