Colorado Attorney General Signs Letter Supporting NO HATE Act
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser joined a group of 35 attorneys general to urge the U.S Congress to pass the National Opposition to Hate, Assaults, and Threats to Equality Act. The act is designed to close gaps in hate crime reporting so the U.S is able to fully understand the extent of these crimes and can then accurately fight them.
The NO HATE Act will provide federal grants to local and state governments that will help train officials to identify, classify, and report hate crimes to the FBI database. The money would also go to creating community programs to reduce hate crimes, establish a hate crime hotline, and increase education around hate crimes.
“We will not tolerate the hateful targeting of Coloradans simply because of who they are,” said Weiser. “This legislation will give our state tools we need to identify and combat hate crimes and provide more resources for communities in our state who are vulnerable to hate crimes.”
According to data from the FBI, hate crimes in Colorado rose by 70 percent Between 2018 and 2019, with 2019 being the deadliest year on record nationally. The U.S has also seen hate crimes on the rise recently, especially against Asian American and Pacific Islander citizens.
The letter, signed by Phil Weiser, explains the current holes in the system of hate crime reporting.
“For more than two decades, thousands of city, county, college and university, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies have voluntarily submitted hate crimes data to the FBI. However, based on the FBI’s 2019 report, most law enforcement agencies did not participate or reported zero incidents. Exacerbating this gap, less than 25 percent of law enforcement agencies are using the FBI’s current reporting system, which took effect this year. This lack of data creates critical gaps that inhibit our understanding of the hate problem,” The letter states.
The bill would also put into place programs for those who broke the law to engage in education about or service to the communities they harmed.
The letter argues that without proper reporting the attorney general is not able to get an accurate picture of the problem, and therefore cannot properly understand or prosecute these crimes.
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