nation 's evolving response to hate crime . A hate crime occurs when an individual intentionally targets a victim or their property because of his or her actual or perceived race , color , religion , national origin , ethnicity , gender , gender identity , disability or sexual orientation . While some have argued that these kind of laws criminalize free speech , the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in the 1993 case , Wisconsin v. Mitchell , that well-drafted hate crime laws are constitutional and do not punish speech . Rather they enhance the penalties only for acts that are already considered crimes . The act is named for Matthew Shepard , a 21-year-old gay college student who was kidnapped , robbed , tortured and left to die , tied to a fence in a remote area outside of Laramie , Wyoming in October 1998 . His mother Judy has been a tireless advocate for hate crime laws and victims . The Shepard Act remedies legal loopholes in federal and state criminal law that fail to protect against bias-motivated attacks based on such characteristics as sexual orientation , gender , gender identity and disability . It also removes
Editor 's note : Brian Levin is director of the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University , San Bernardino . Jack McDevitt is the director of the Institute on Race and Justice and Associate Dean in the College of Criminal Justice at Northeastern University . Both have testified before Congress in support of federal hate crime legislation and are co-authors of a book on hate in America , due to be published next year . Brian Levin says a new federal hate crime law is needed to combat violent incidents of bias . SAN BERNARDINO , California -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- America needs a coordinated and multifaceted response to combat the continuing scourge of violent hate crime like the crime committed at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on June 10 . The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act , originally introduced by Sen. Edward Kennedy a decade ago and nearly passed during the most recent legislative session , is expected to go before the Senate for a vote soon . U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder testified on its behalf Thursday before the Senate Judiciary Committee . It is a crucial step in the