Bias Crimes

I like calling them Bias Crimes instead of Hate Crimes because bigotry is not a hate crime, it is a bias crime. "I didn't sell him (__full in the blanks__) because I hate him but because (Select one or more: Lazy, Criminals, Dope addicts, Welfare Queens)." hate is hard to prove, there is discrimination but no hate the salesperson believes in stereotyping which isn't motivated by hate but rather by bias. But it is still a crime, a bias crime.

 

Down the river in Deep River there have been a number of bias incidents...

 Deep River officials decry flyers with 'homophobic and transphobic' messaging distributed in town
CT Insider

By Hana Ikramuddin,
April 3, 2025

 

 

 Local officials denounced flyers with "homophobic and transphobic" messaging that were seen around Deep River Wednesday ahead of an event held at a local library.

 

 Deep River First Selectman Carol Jones said in a statement that the flyers had been spread around town and were "full of messages of hate and intolerance."

 

[...]

 

"What do we do when we are so blatantly reminded that the hatred and bitterness that we read about in the paper or see on the television exists here in our own little town? First, we have to acknowledge that this type of hatred does exist and while it offends most all of us, it can and does produce very real fear in some of us, and we ought to think a bit about that," Jones said.

But this wasn't an isolated incident, last December...

 Norwalk police investigating 'prejudicial' flyers found around City Hall
By Peter Yankowski,
Dec 18, 2024

 

 

 Police are investigating after flyers with "prejudicial" material were found scattered around the City Hall area Wednesday morning in what they described as a "hate incident."

 

 Dispatchers received reports Wednesday morning that the flyers were "scattered about several streets in the area," a statement released by Deputy Chief Terrence Blake said. 

"The flyers contain prejudicial messaging against certain cultures and religions in various languages," he said.

He did not specify what the flyers said. It was not immediately clear what group or groups were targeted by the flyers.

It is not just here but all around the country that bias crimes are increasing against all minorities! The Hartford Courant reported,

 DESPP commissioner: How we are fighting increased hate crime in Connecticut
Our collective goal is to make Connecticut a safe place

By Ronnell A. Higgins
March 30, 2025

 

 

 Amid the debate surrounding Gov. Ned Lamont’s sound proposal to revise and strengthen hate crime laws in Connecticut, we must step back and again remind ourselves about an alarming reality.

We’ve seen a 50 percent increase in reported hate crimes in Connecticut just since 2021. Meanwhile, the Anti-Defamation League says that over the past five years it has seen a 450 percent increase in incidents they document in Connecticut.

There is a problem with hate in Connecticut and it isn’t going away. How we address this matters a great deal.

And just as law enforcement would respond to a surge in violent crime, auto thefts, or to disrupt the flow of illegal drugs through our state, it is our duty at the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection to organize and take a leadership role.

We are not waiting to respond to what Gov. Lamont has described as the unconscionable targeting of people “because of the color of their skin, the religion they practice, the person they love, their country of birth, or any other personal attributes that identify who they are.’’

What the governor's bill does is to combine all the bias crime statutes into one location. [Fair disclosing: I am on his council that made the recommendations to the governor], for example bias crimes against gays and lesbians were in a different location in the criminal statutes then bias crimes against us. That made it had for a law officer to look up the statute, now they are all in one place.

 

Here is what the governor wrote:

 The following is a list of existing hate crimes laws in the Connecticut General Statutes that Governor Lamont is seeking to consolidate into one new chapter:

Hate Crime Causing Physical Injury
Hate Crime Causing Physical Contact
Hate Crime Affecting Property
Hate Crime Affecting Religious Property
Hate Crime by Threat of Physical Contact
Hate Crime by Threat to Property
Hate Crime by Threatening in the First Degree with Respect to House of Religious Worship or Religiously-Affiliated Community Center
Hate Crime by Threatening in the Second Degree with Respect to House of Religious Worship or Religiously-Affiliated Community Center
Hate Crime by Advocacy or Urging
Hate Crime by Deprivation of Civil Rights
Hate Crime by Burning Cross
Hate Crime by Noose
Hate Crime with Mask or Hood
Ridicule by Commercial Advertisement
Discriminatory Public Accommodations Practice
Discriminatory Housing Practice
Hate Crime by False Report
Hate Crime by False Report to Law Enforcement
Hate Crime by False Report Resulting in Serious Physical Injury or Death
Hate Crime by Stalking
Hate Crime by Misuse of Emergency 9-1-1 System
Governor Lamont is scheduled to deliver his annual budget address to a joint session of the General Assembly on Wednesday, February 5, 2025. Documents containing the full details of his biennial budget proposal and other legislative proposals, including this bill on hate crimes, will be filed on that date.

 You know you have to wonder why bias crimes are going up?