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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
Is targeting people because of their political views considered a hate crime in some US jurisdictions?
Friday, September 11, 2020
By Christopher Hutton
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YES
The breadth of hate crime classifications varies from state to state, but some take political affiliations and viewpoints into account.
Federal laws, first passed in 1968, were expanded in 2009 to encompass all crimes committed because of the "actual or perceived religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of any person." Some state laws explicitly include bias towards political affiliation as a potential hate crime. Delaware's statute is less direct, encompassing offenses affecting the "victim's free exercise or enjoyment" of activities protected by the First Amendment.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
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Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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