Litvak speaks on benefits of hate crimes legislation
Utah House Rep. David Litvak gave two speeches at Utah State University on Thursday – one for the College Democrats, and one for the Pride! Alliance.
Litvak spoke in the Taggart Student Center about his hate crimes bill from the recent legislative session. The legislation would provide an enhanced penalty for crimes specifically targeted toward someone because he belongs to a certain group. It was not passed at this year’s session.
His informal speech to a small group of College Democrats in the Center Colony Room focused on the representative’s belief that changes to current hate crimes laws are necessary. The first hate crimes bill was passed in 1992 but has not been effective, Litvak said. Sen. Pete Suazo began to rewrite the bill seven years ago and has since passed away, he said.
“Since 1992, we’ve had a statute that’s never been used,” he said.
It’s been difficult to get a new bill passed because people think it’s a new statute or a new type of law, he said.
Litvak said enhanced penalties are not a new idea. In the same year as the hate crimes bill failed to pass, the Legislature passed a bill allowing enhanced penalties for commercial terrorism. He said this legislation was specifically targeted toward specific groups, like animal rights organizations.
He used the example of animal activists going to a mink farm and preventing minks from mating. Because this is economically harmful to the farmer, it could be considered commercial terrorism.
The biggest challenge in passing the hate crimes bill, Litvak said, comes from defining what “groups” means and including sexual orientation in that definition. Litvak said he is committed to getting the bill passed and including punishments for crimes targeted at people because of their sexual orientation.
Cy Martz, president of the Pride! Alliance, said Litvak’s mention of sexual orientation during his speech for Pride! Day and in his bill helps validate homosexuality.
“It considers us a population,” he said.
Martz said he appreciated Litvak’s explanation that hate crimes legislation without mention of sexual orientation condones violence against homosexuals.
Litvak said, “As long as I’m sponsoring [the bill], I’ll continue to put it in there.”
The representative explained many people oppose the bill, because they think it will open the gates for other gay rights, like gay marriage, but that is not the intent, he said.
This year, Litvak said, he put language in the bill indicating that its intent was not to open that gate. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints took a positive stance on the bill for the first time this year, he said.
Utah reflects what’s happening nationally, Litvak said, regarding types of reported hate crimes. Many hate crimes go unreported, he said.
“I think hate crimes are similar to rape and sexual assault when it comes to reporting [them],” he said.
He cited increased vulnerability as the likely cause for this.
Litvak said he believes hate crimes are not worse than other crimes but are different and need to be addressed on their own and have their own legal procedure.
With hate crimes, he said, “there’s a greater sense of vulnerability and sense of fear.”
The act doesn’t just affect the individual, but the larger community, as well.
The most important part of preventing hate crimes, Litvak said, is open dialogue. The National Conference for Community and Justice in Utah, of which Litvak is the associate director, hosts week-long summer camps for high school students to encourage open dialogue. Camp Anytown brings a racially and religiously diverse group of teens together and fosters discussion and the development of friendships.
Litvak said 46 states have hate crimes legislation but was unsure how effective the legislation had been.
The representative is a Democrat who serves on the House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee.
-katrich@cc.usu.edu