Opposing Expanded Hate Crimes Laws is Dangerous

Michelle Chen, among a few others, wrote recently about the opposition among LGBT and queer people, particularly those of color, to the further expansion of US hate crimes laws: http://www.racewire.org/archives/2009/08/do_unto_others_the_moral_slope.html.  To quickly summarize their argument… given the unequal application of the law, namely the racial inequality in the criminal justice and legal systems, why should we further contribute to the power the law has in terms of incarceration.  Furthermore, given our increasing awareness of the physical, emotional, and sexual violence that transgender people face in prisons, why would we want to put more transphobic in prison for longer periods of time.  Just for clarity sake, I should note that the recent discussion in Congress is about the Matthew Shepard act, which would expand federal hate crime laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.

Chen et al.’s argument is not to be taken lightly.  Like with any advocacy regarding sexuality, we should be mindful of the racial, gender, class, nationality, ability, age, and religious implications.  For example, a number of activists and commentators have critiqued the primacy of marriage equality advocacy among LGBT activists and politicians, whereas it will do little to improve the lives of LGBT people that also face sexism, racism, transphobia, classism, xenophobia, religious intolerance, ageism, and ableism.

But, I have to politely disagree with their argument – not to say that they are wrong, but to say that their efforts may be misplaced.  Rather than opposing the legal and symbolic protection of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, genderqueer, and queer people, I would suggest that efforts are directed toward ensuring racial equality in the application of the law.  As a sociologist, I am particularly attuned to the mutual relationship between individuals and society.  The progress of this hate crime bill, which has failed every year for the past 10 or so years, but with clear potential of passage now, is a clear sign of the impact activists and legislators can have in changing how the government conceptualizes crime, particularly bias-motivated crimes.  On the flip side, institutions, like the government, have a strong influence in culture and the way people view the world.  The inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression sends a loud and clear message to the individuals of this country that LGBT and queer people are to be respected and treated fairly as heterosexuals and cisgender (those who are not transgender) people are.

With the depressing number of transpeople who have been murdered in the past few years, and with the confidence that the current hate crime law can pass, I find it to be dangerous to pass this opportunity to expand the hate crime law.  But, I also encourage changing the application of the law so that racial inequalities in the courts and prisons are eliminated.  I encourage restructuring of the prison system so that transpeople, and all people for that matter, are no longer at risk for assault, rape, and murder.  And, I note, some of the transphobia we see today can be lessened tomorrow with laws on the books that acknowledge the lives and worth of transpeople.