US Legislation Targets Hate Crimes By Allowing Victims To Sue In Civil Courts - Lawmaker

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th November, 2018) A newly proposed draft US law aims to address a three-year rise in hate crimes by allowing victims to sue for damages in civil courts and taking steps to improve the reporting of such crimes to the Federal government, Congressman Don Beyer said in a press release on Wednesday.

"For the third year in a row, hate crimes across the country have risen, this year by 17 percent," Beyer said. "With each passing year, the problem of hate in the United States grows, and it requires Congress to take up and pass the No Hate Act."

Beyer's comments followed the October 27 massacre of 11 Jewish worshipers at a synagogue and Tuesday's release of an annual FBI report showing a 17 percent increase in reported hate crimes in 2017 over the previous year.

The legislation includes training on hate crime identification and reporting for local police departments, 17 percent of which failed to file a single hate crime report between 2009 and 2015, the release said.

The legislation would also establish a federal private right of action for hate crimes, offering victims of hate crimes the option to fight for remedies in civil court, and ensuring that everyone - even in states without hate crime laws on the books - can have his or her day in court, the release said.

In addition, the legislation would provide grants for states to establish and run hate crime hotlines, to record information about hate crimes, and to redirect victims and witnesses to law enforcement and local support services, the release added.

Beyer sponsored the No Hate Act in the House of Representatives and Senator Richard Blumenthal introduced companion legislation in the Senate.