Protections extended under Michigan’s hate crime legislation are about to be broadened to cover sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, among others. After approximately 36 years since its last revision, the law is being overhauled to increase the severity of criminal and potential civil penalties associated with hate crimes. The revision of the definition of hate crimes is another significant aspect of the amendment. The updated statute, sanctioned into law on Wednesday by Governor Gretchen Whitmer, will be in operation starting from April 2.
Over the course of the last decade, there has been many observing not just an escalation in hate crimes, but also an increasing normalization of racist, anti-Semitic, and xenophobic language, symbols, and acts. The prior legislation against hate crimes in Michigan was inefficient in properly preventing and prosecuting acts committed out of prejudice towards residents, merely based on their identity. Hate crimes are designed to convey an alienating message of intolerance towards susceptible communities.
Existing provisions in Michigan’s hate crime legislation forbid physical assaults, property damage, or threats aimed at someone with the explicit intent to harass or intimidate them due to their race, color, religion, gender, or national origin. The forthcoming law will expand the protected categories to embrace sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, physical or mental disability, age, ethnicity. Also, the new law will introduce a clause for ‘association or affiliation with any group or individual, entirely or partially, based on any characteristic specified under subdivisions.’
In 2023, Democrats endeavored to pass bills similar to the current one. However, they faced significant opposition stemming from misinformation, most notably from false claims alleging that the bills would criminalize misgendering someone. With the extended law, stalking will be incorporated into the roster of hate crime actions, along with more comprehensive definitions of threats and physical attacks.
The revised law is poised to intensify the penalty, mandating longer prison sentences and bigger fines based on previous convictions for hate crimes. As it stands now, offenders of hate crimes can be sentenced to a maximum of two years in prison and fined up to $5,000. The widened scope of the law will mean making a threat in the context of a hate crime will become a felony carrying a sentence of up to two years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $5,000.
Further, committing an act of stalking, engaging in physical assault or perpetrating property damage as a part of a hate crime will also be classified as a felony. Offending parties could face up to five years in prison and fines reaching $10,000. A reiteration of a previous offense, such as stalking, assault, or property damage related to a hate crime, could result in a felony conviction lasting up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.
The commission of a second or subsequent offense involving a threat will also become a more serious crime, classified as a five-year felony under the revised law. Moreover, the crime will amount to a 10-year felony under two conditions: firstly if the hate crime is committed by an adult against a minor and secondly, if the individual committing the hate crime is found in possession of a firearm or any other weapon during the offense.
The enactment of these bills occurred in an atmosphere of considerable party polarization. The approval for these measures predominantly came from Democrats. Despite resistance and controversy, the bills eventually passed last year, paving the way for their implementation and the broadening of the hate crimes law in the state.