HCR 13 - AS INTRODUCED
2018 SESSION
18-2155
04/05
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 13
A RESOLUTION condemning hate crimes and any other form of racism in New Hampshire.
SPONSORS: Rep. Messmer, Rock. 24; Rep. Dean-Bailey, Rock. 32; Rep. Cushing, Rock. 21; Rep. Salloway, Straf. 5; Rep. DiLorenzo, Rock. 17; Rep. Butler, Carr. 7; Rep. Luneau, Merr. 10; Rep. Cloutier, Sull. 10; Rep. Bove, Rock. 5; Rep. Hennessey, Graf. 1; Sen. Innis, Dist 24; Sen. Feltes, Dist 15; Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Sen. Bradley, Dist 3; Sen. Fuller Clark, Dist 21
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
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ANALYSIS
This concurrent resolution condemns hate crime and any other form of conduct that constitutes racism, religious or ethnic bias, discrimination based on disability, age, marriage, familial status, sexuality or gender discrimination, incitement to violence, or animus contrary to law in the state of New Hampshire.
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18-2155
04/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eighteen
A RESOLUTION condemning hate crimes and any other form of racism in New Hampshire.
Whereas, in the past several years, violent crimes, threats of violence, and other incidents of hate-motivated targeting of religious, racial, sexual or gender identity, and ethnic minorities have increased across the state of New Hampshire and the United States; and
Whereas, in 2015, hate crimes targeting Muslims in the United States increased by 67 percent, reaching a level of violence targeting Muslim Americans that the United States had not experienced since the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and
Whereas, in 2015, anti-Semitic incidents increased in the United States for the second straight year, according to the Anti-Defamation League’s 2015 Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents, which describes trends such as the tripling of assaults targeting Jews since 2012 and the rise of online harassment and hate speech directed at Jewish journalists and individuals through social media; and
Whereas, in 2015, anti-Semitic incidents at institutions of higher education nearly doubled compared to the number of those incidents in 2014, and during the 2016-2017 school year there has been an increase in white supremacist activity on college campuses across the United States, according to the Anti-Defamation League; and
Whereas, in 2015, among single-bias hate crime incidents in the United States, 59.2 percent of victims were targeted due to racial, ethnic, or ancestry bias, and among those victims, 52.2 percent were victims of crimes motivated by their offenders’ anti-Black or anti-African American bias, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and
Whereas, results of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey found that 12 percent of transgender students in kindergarten through grade 12 in New Hampshire faced such severe mistreatment as a transgender person that they left the school. According to the 2015 survey, 27 percent of respondents in New Hampshire who were out or perceived as transgender in college or vocational school were verbally, physically, or sexually harassed because of being transgender; and
Whereas, on June 12, 2016, 49 people were killed and 58 others wounded in an armed attack on Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida; and
Whereas, in June 2016, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) reported a 20 percent increase in reported lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender-queer (LGBTQ) homicides in the U.S. between 2014 and 2015, Of the homicides reported in 2015, 62 percent were LGBTQ people of color; and
Whereas, in 2017, there have been more than 100 reported bomb threats against Jewish community centers, Jewish day schools, and other Jewish organizations and institutions in more than 38 states; and
Whereas, in 2017, Islamic centers and mosques have been burned in the states of Texas, Washington, and Florida, and Jewish cemeteries have been desecrated in the state of Missouri and the commonwealth of Pennsylvania; and
Whereas, in 2017, there has been harassment and hate-based violence against individuals who are perceived to be Muslim, including members of South Asian communities in the United States, and Hindu and Sikh Americans have been the target of hate-based violence targeting religious minorities; and
Whereas on February 28, 2017, President Donald Trump, before a joint session of Congress, acknowledged threats targeting Jewish community centers and the vandalism of Jewish cemeteries, and stated that ‘‘we are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil in all of its very ugly forms;" and
Whereas, in May 2017, reports of racial and ethnic hate crime incidents were reported in New Hampshire media but not listed in the university of New Hampshire records filed with the federal government; and
Whereas, on August 12, 2017, one person was killed and 19 injured when a car slammed into counter protestors in Charlottesville, North Carolina and 15 others were injured during a rally of white nationalists and others; and
Whereas, on August 17, 2017 the headquarters of the New Hampshire state republican party was vandalized with anti-Semitic symbols; and
Whereas, on August 28, 2017 a Claremont, New Hampshire 8-year old bi-racial boy was wounded when teenagers attempted to lynch him; and
Whereas, on September 1, 2017 a 7-year old boy was taunted with racial comments and encountered “unwanted physical contact” on a school bus in Durham, New Hampshire; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring, that the state of New Hampshire:
I. Stands united in condemning hate, discrimination, and evil in all forms in violation of RSA 651:6 I(f);? and
II. Shall not impede freedom of speech or ideas however, and condemns violence and destruction of person and/or property; and
III. Rejects hate-motivated crime as an attack on the fabric of the society of the state and the ideals of pluralism and respect;? and
IV. Condemns hate crime and any other form of conduct that constitutes racism, religious or ethnic bias, sexual or gender discrimination, discrimination based on age, disability, marriage or familial status, incitement to violence, or animus targeting a minority contrary to law in the state; and
V. Calls on state law enforcement officials:?
(a) To expeditiously investigate all credible reports of discrimination, hate crimes, and incidents and threats against minorities contrary to law in the state; and?
(b) To hold the perpetrators of those crimes, incidents, or threats or discrimination accountable and bring the perpetrators to justice; and?
VI. Should continue working to improve the reporting of hate crimes and discrimination and emphasizing the importance of the agencies’ collection and reporting of data pursuant to federal law; and
VII. Is encouraged to develop a task force led by the attorney general and appropriate state authorities to collaborate on the development of effective strategies and efforts to detect and deter hate crime and discrimination in order to protect minority communities; and
VIII. Calls on the governor and executive council:?
(a) To offer state assistance that may be available for victims of hate crimes and discrimination; and
(b) To enhance security measures and improve preparedness for religious institutions, places of worship, and other institutions that have been targeted because of the affiliation of the institutions with any particular religious, racial, or ethnic minority in the state.
| Date | Body | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 16, 2018 | House | Hearing |
| Jan. 16, 2018 | House | Exec Session |
| House | Floor Vote | |
| Feb. 7, 2018 | House | Floor Vote |
| Feb. 15, 2018 | House | Floor Vote |
: Returned to the House, Pursuant to Rule 3-26
Feb. 15, 2018: Ought to Pass: MA RC 234-69 02/15/2018 HJ 4 P. 34
Feb. 15, 2018: Lay HCR 13 on Table (Rep. McConnell): MF RC 132-191 02/15/2018 HJ 4 P. 32
: Special Order to 2/15/2018 Without Objection HJ 3 P. 81
: Minority Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate
: Majority Committee Report: Ought to Pass (Vote 13-7; RC)
Feb. 7, 2018: Majority Committee Report: Ought to Pass for 02/07/2018 (Vote 13-7; RC)
Jan. 16, 2018: Executive Session: 01/16/2018 LOB 204
Jan. 16, 2018: Public Hearing: 01/16/2018 10:00 AM LOB 204
Jan. 3, 2018: Introduced 01/03/2018 and referred to Criminal Justice and Public Safety HJ 1 P. 25