Harsher sentencing to address hate crimes
By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Capitol Bureau
Hate crimes legislation is expected to become law today in Hawai'i, one of the last states to impose tougher sentences on criminal offenders who pick victims on the basis of hatred for a particular race, religion, disability, ethnicity, national origin or sexual orientation.
The controversial legislation, which opponents say creates a special class of people to be protected, will become law in a public ceremony this morning. Senate Bill 951 will be signed by Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono, who asked to be allowed to sign the act.
In addition to harsher sentencing, the act calls for a reporting mechanism to compile, track and analyze data on crime data in Hawai'i.
Hawai'i is among the minority of states without laws addressing hate-motivated crimes. Hawai'i is also one of four states not participating in the federal hate crimes data reporting program.
"By signing the bill, the lieutenant governor is bringing Hawai'i once again into the forefront of protecting rights of minorities," said Clayton Ikei, vice president of public affairs for the Honolulu chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League.
"What it means is that now hate will be elevated to a new degree of punishment in crime," said Ken Miller, co-chairman of the Gay & Lesbian Community Center. "... If someone was to commit a crime because they don't like a person because they're black, white, gay, lesbian or whatever, we will be protected. And for our community, that is essential."
Miller said the recent assault on gay campers on Kaua'i — where two men are accused of taunting campers with anti-gay slurs, setting a tent on fire and attempting to set more fires and run over a group of people with a speeding car — is just "the tip of the iceberg."
He said the community center receives daily calls from people reporting various degrees of hate crimes, from anti-gay remarks to getting beaten up at a park.
But he added: "This is not about being gay. This is about people who are different than the general population and it prevents those who are uncomfortable with these segments of our community from coming out and acting on that discomfort. It sends a very clear message that this will not be tolerated."
Sen. Fred Hemmings, one of three senators who voted against the bill, called the measure "political correctness at its worst." The House approved the bill by a 39-12 vote.
"All crime against any person is hateful," he said. "And we should all be protected equally. To single out particular groups because of race, creed, or other considerations such as lifestyles is not justice. ... To say one particular group's interest or life is worth more than others based on ethnic, religious or other types of lifestyle situations is crazy."
Hemmings, R-25th (Kailua, Waimanalo), also said it would be difficult in some instances to prove a hate crime because it would require the judicial system to determine what the defendant's state of mind was when the crime was committed.
But Ikei, an attorney, said judges and juries already make decisions on defendants' state of mind, such as determining whether an assault was intentional or negligent.
He said that the JACL hasn't heard recently of racially motivated hate crimes and that hate crimes in general are "not up in numbers that they have on the Mainland, but certainly we do see a trend in Hawai'i that it is becoming an issue of concern."
The law would impose penalties of up to life in prison for Class A felonies, which are punishable by up to 20 years in prison. It would impose penalties of up to 20 years for Class B and up to 10 years for Class C felonies, which are punishable now by up to 10 years and up to five years, respectively.
