"No Hate Crimes In Iowa!"

Iowa Hate Crime legislation first passed the legislature in 1987 as Chapter 729A in the Code of Iowa. This law has been amended several times since then. A Hate Crime is one of the following public offenses (assault, criminal mischief, trespass or arson) when committed against a person or person's property because of the person's:

race
color
religion
ancestry
national origin
political affiliation
sex
sexual orientation
age
physical or mental disability

 

During 1990 and 1991, Commission management personnel served on the Governor's Hate Crimes Task Force. The recommendations of this group resulted in the Governor's Conference on Hate Crimes in February 1992 in Des Moines attended by law enforcement personnel from around the state.

The Commission presented a new Hate Crimes brochure and poster, "No Hate Crimes In Iowa," to the attendees. These were updated after the conference and after the l992 Iowa legislative changes. Hate Crimes posters and brochures will be distributed to Iowa school superintendents, law enforcement off ices and human rights advocates around the state with the request these be duplicated and distributed.

Iowa's Hate Crimes legislation is comprehensive. Iowa Hate Crime laws:

• prohibit acts of intimidation and interference ...
• prohibit assault, criminal mischief, arson and trespass committed because of the protected characteristics,
• define Hate Crimes,
• provide enforcement penalties one degree higher than the underlying crime,
• provide victims civil relief against offenders,
• require sensitivity and Hate Crime in-service training for law enforcement,
• require monitoring of Hate Crime violations,
• allow for local ordinances.

The Iowa Civil Rights Commission is involved if a Hate Crime occurs in the areas of employment, housing, credit, public accommodations or education and is also a discriminatory act under Iowa Code Chapter 601A.