The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today expressed support for proposed legislation in Hawaii that would redefine a hate crime as any report of an alleged crime that might be motivated by bias or prejudice.
SEE: Lawmakers look to redefine hate crime
Currently, a crime is only reported as a hate crime if it results in a criminal charge. SB1149 and HB614 would count any complaint filed related to a crime allegedly motivated by bias or prejudice as a hate crime. The bills would also require “law enforcement officers to receive annual training to identify, investigate, and document hate crimes and possible hate crimes.”
“We support any legislative effort to ensure that law enforcement accurately documents and reports all reported crimes that are allegedly motivated by bias or prejudice,” said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. “This type of legislation is increasingly important as we witness bias-motivated incidents targeting members of minority communities nationwide that may not always result in criminal charges due to various factors.”
Hooper said Washington, D.C., based CAIR and the American Muslim community stand in solidarity with all those challenging antisemitism, systemic anti-Black racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, white supremacy, and all other forms of bigotry.
END
CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com