Legal Definitions - Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act

The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 is a law that gives more power to the federal government to investigate and prosecute hate crimes. It also provides funding for state and local governments to investigate hate crimes. The law expands on previous hate crimelegislation to include protections for violent acts based on a person's gender, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity. The law only covers actual acts of violence, not threats or other verbal conduct.

The law is named after two victims of hate crimes. Matthew Shepard was a gay student who was beaten to death in Wyoming in 1998. James Byrd Jr. was an African American man who was murdered by white supremacists in Texas in 1998. Prior to this law, there were attempts to expand hate crime laws, but they were not successful until the Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009.

For example, if someone is physically attacked because they are gay, the attacker can be charged with a hate crime under this law. However, if someone just says something hateful to another person, that would not be considered a hate crime under this law.