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Sexual Orientation Policy Tally

The term “sexual orientation” is loosely defined as a person’s pattern of romantic or sexual attraction to people of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or more than one sex or gender. Laws that explicitly mention sexual orientation primarily protect or harm lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. That said, transgender people who are lesbian, gay or bisexual can be affected by laws that explicitly mention sexual orientation.

Gender Identity Policy Tally

“Gender identity” is a person’s deeply-felt inner sense of being male, female, or something else or in-between. “Gender expression” refers to a person’s characteristics and behaviors such as appearance, dress, mannerisms and speech patterns that can be described as masculine, feminine, or something else. Gender identity and expression are independent of sexual orientation, and transgender people may identify as heterosexual, lesbian, gay or bisexual. Laws that explicitly mention “gender identity” or “gender identity and expression” primarily protect or harm transgender people. These laws also can apply to people who are not transgender, but whose sense of gender or manner of dress does not adhere to gender stereotypes.

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/Equality Maps /Hate Crime Laws

Hate Crime Laws

Hate crime laws require law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute crimes committed with bias against LGBT people. Some state laws require collection of data on anti-LGBT hate crimes.

United States Map
Vermont New Hampshire Washington D.C. Maryland Delaware New Jersey Connecticut Rhode Island Massachusetts Alaska Hawaii California Oregon Washington Nevada Utah Arizona Idaho Montana Wyoming Colorado 33 Texas North Dakota South Dakota Nebraska Kansas Oklahoma Minnesota Iowa Louisiana Arkansas Missouri Mississippi Florida Georgia Tennessee South Carolina North Carolina Wisconsin Illinois Michigan Indiana Kentucky Ohio West Virginia Maine New York Pennsylvania Virginia Vermont New Hampshire
  • Law covers sexual orientation and gender identity(17 states + D.C.)
  • Law covers only sexual orientation (13 states)
  • Existing hate crime law does not cover sexual orientation or gender identity (16 states)
  • No hate crime law (4 states)

Read the State-by-State Statutes

Hate crime laws are designed to deter bias-motivated crimes, however there is no consensus around the efficacy of these laws in preventing hate crimes against LGBT people. In fact, some advocates believe hate crime laws may be counterproductive to that goal. Research suggests that the enforcement of hate crime laws disproportionately impacts marginalized communities, particularly communities of color. Read more about how criminalization impacts people of color here.

The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act is a federal law that amended federal hate crime law to include gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability. Several states have hate crime laws that require data collection for sexual orientation or gender identity and expression, but do not impose additional penalties: Indiana (sexual orientation), Michigan (sexual orientation) and Rhode Island (gender identity or expression). For additional information, contact the Human Rights Campaign, the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, the National Center for Transgender Equality, or the Equality Federation.

Percent of LGBT Population Covered by Laws

40%

40 % of LGBT population lives in states that have hate crime laws covering sexual orientation and gender identity

72%

72 % of LGBT population lives in states that have hate crime laws covering sexual orientation

24%

24 % of LGBT population lives in states with laws that do not cover sexual orientation or gender identity

4%

4 % of LGBT population lives in states with no hate crime laws

Key
  • State has law that only covers sexual orientationLaw covers sexual orientation
  • State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identityLaw covers sexual orientation and gender identity/expression
State Hate Crime Law Year Passed
  Citations
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
State has law that only covers sexual orientation 		2003
Arkansas
California
State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity 		1999
Colorado
State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity 		2005
Connecticut
State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity 		2004
Delaware
State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity 		1997/2013
District of Columbia
State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity 		1989
Florida
State has law that only covers sexual orientation 		2001
Georgia
Hawaii
State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity 		2003
Idaho
Illinois
State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity 		2001/2016
Indiana
Iowa
State has law that only covers sexual orientation 		2002
Kansas
State has law that only covers sexual orientation 		2002
Kentucky
State has law that only covers sexual orientation 		2001
Louisiana
State has law that only covers sexual orientation 		2002
Maine
State has law that only covers sexual orientation 		2001
Maryland
State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity 		2005
Massachusetts
State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity 		2002 (Sexual Orientation); 2011 (Gender Identity/Expression)
Michigan
Minnesota
State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity 		1993
Mississippi
Missouri
State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity 		1999
Montana
Nebraska
State has law that only covers sexual orientation 		2002
Nevada
State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity 		2001 (Sexual Orientation); 2013 (Gender Identity/Expression)
New Hampshire
State has law that only covers sexual orientation 		2002
New Jersey
State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity 		2002 (Sexual Orientation); 2008 (Gender Identity/Expression)
New Mexico
State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity 		2003
New York
State has law that only covers sexual orientation 		2002
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity 		2001 (Sexual Orientation); 2008 (Gender Identity/Expression)
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity 		2001/2012
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
State has law that only covers sexual orientation 		2001
Texas
State has law that only covers sexual orientation 		2002
Utah
Vermont
State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity 		2001
Virginia
Washington
State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity 		1993 (Sexual Orientation); 2009 (Gender Identity/Expression)
West Virginia
Wisconsin
State has law that only covers sexual orientation 		2002
Wyoming


Data current as of 09/26/2017
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