The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act

The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was a piece of legislation that “provides funding and technical assistance to state, local, and tribal jurisdictions to help them to more effectively investigate and prosecute hate crimes.” 

It created a designation for hate crimes with a gender identity bias that didn’t exist before on a federal level.

“By the end of 2013, the Department of Justice reported that 44 people in 16 states had been convicted under the Shepard-Byrd Act, and last year the White House reported a 50% increase in the number of defendants being charged with hate crimes or related charges,”

Initially proposed legislation during the late Clinton administration, it was finally passed during the Obama administration, almost 10 years later.

 

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Published April 2025