§ 485.00 Legislative findings.\n The legislature finds and determines as follows: criminal acts\ninvolving violence, intimidation and destruction of property based upon\nbias and prejudice have become more prevalent in New York state in\nrecent years. The intolerable truth is that in these crimes, commonly\nand justly referred to as "hate crimes", victims are intentionally\nselected, in whole or in part, because of their race, color, national\norigin, ancestry, gender, gender identity or expression, religion,\nreligious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation. Hate crimes\ndo more than threaten the safety and welfare of all citizens. They\ninflict on victims incalculable physical and emotional damage and tear\nat the very fabric of free society. Crimes motivated by invidious hatred\ntoward particular groups not only harm individual victims but send a\npowerful message of intolerance and discrimination to all members of the\ngroup to which the victim belongs. Hate crimes can and do intimidate and\ndisrupt entire communities and vitiate the civility that is essential to\nhealthy democratic processes. In a democratic society, citizens cannot\nbe required to approve of the beliefs and practices of others, but must\nnever commit criminal acts on account of them. However, these criminal\nacts do occur and are occurring more and more frequently. Quite often,\nthese crimes of hate are also acts of terror. The recent attacks in\nMonsey, New York as well as the shootings in El Paso, Texas; Pittsburgh,\nPennsylvania; Sutherland Springs, Texas; Orlando, Florida; and\nCharleston, South Carolina illustrate that mass killings are often\napolitical, motivated by the hatred of a specific group coupled with a\ndesire to inflict mass casualties. The current law emphasizes the\npolitical motivation of an act over its catastrophic effect and does not\nadequately recognize the harm to public order and individual safety that\nhate crimes cause. Therefore, our laws must be strengthened to provide\nclear recognition of the gravity of hate crimes and the compelling\nimportance of preventing their recurrence.\n Accordingly, the legislature finds and declares that hate crimes\nshould be prosecuted and punished with appropriate severity.\n
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