HB 18

Abstract

Hate crimes and discrimination; ethnic animosity; penalties. Provides that it is the policy of the Commonwealth to safeguard all individuals within the Commonwealth from unlawful discrimination in employment and in places of public accommodation because of such individual's ethnic origin and prohibits such discrimination. The bill also adds victims who are intentionally selected because of their ethnic origin to the categories of victims whose intentional selection for a hate crime involving assault, assault and battery, or trespass for the purpose of damaging another's property results in a higher criminal penalty for the offense. The bill also provides that no provider or user of an interactive computer service on the Internet shall be liable for any action voluntarily taken by it in good faith to restrict access to material that the provider or user considers to be intended to incite hatred on the basis of ethnic origin. This bill is identical to SB 7.

Hate crimes and discrimination; ethnic animosity; penalties. Provides that it is the policy of the Commonwealthto safeguard all individuals within the Commonwealth from unlawfuldiscrimination in employment and in places of public accommodationbecause of such individual's ethnic origin. The bill also adds victimswho are intentionally selected because of their ethnic origin tothe categories of victims whose intentional selection for a hatecrime involving assault, assault and battery, or trespass for thepurpose of damaging another's property results in a higher criminal penalty for the offense. The bill also provides that no provideror user of an interactive computer service on the Internet shallbe liable for any action voluntarily taken by it in good faith torestrict access to material that the provider or user considers tobe intended to incite hatred on the basis of ethnic origin.