Oregon lists assaults on gender identity as a hate crime

From now on, gender identity will be protected by a special law in Oregon. If someone is violated because of their gender identity, the aggressor can be punished as a hate crime. This is in addition to a law that has not been updated since 1980.

Our hate crime laws are very out of date and were written decades ago… This update is necessary to bring justice to so many survivors, said Zakir Khan.

Of course, the aggressors were prosecuted when they attacked another because of their color, religion, race or sexual orientation. However, it was considered a misdemeanor and the punishment was not harsh. The only exception was when the attack was carried out in a group.

"This creates a peculiar scenario in which two defendants who spray racist graffiti on a wall could expect to be punished harsher than one individual who physically attacks someone because of the color of their skin," said State Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum.

The new law makes it a felony to threaten or assault a person for their "membership in a protected class." It also follows the lead of other states in clarifying that gender identity is considered a protected class, a movement aimed at recognizing the rise in crimes against transgender people.

Hate crimes increased 40% in Oregon from 2016 to 2017, according to FBI data, while convictions and arrests for those crimes have decreased. In other words, there is marked impunity for the resolution of this type of conflict.

The new law strengthens definitions of bias crimes, providing more guidance to local jurisdictions and encouraging more accurate data collection.

Too often, people are turned away by law enforcement because there was no criminal activity… People who would have previously been turned away will now be connected to community services and support, said Ricardo Lujan-Valerio, policy associate at the ACLU of Oregon.