HATE CRIMES
• A hate crime is a criminal offense committed against a person or property which is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias . Bias is a preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons based on their race, gender, religion, disability, sexual orientation or ethnicity/national origin. • Although there are many possible categories of bias, under Clery, only the following six categories are reported: • • Race . A preformed negative attitude toward a group of persons who possess common physical characteristics (e.g., color of skin, eyes, and/or hair; facial features, etc.) genetically transmitted by descent and heredity, which distinguish them as a distinct division of humankind (e.g., Asians, blacks, whites). • • Gender . A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons because those persons are male or female. • • Religion. A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons who share the same religious beliefs regarding the origin and purpose of the universe and the existence or nonexistence of a supreme being (e.g., Catholics, Jews, Protestants, atheists). • • Sexual orientation. A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons based on their sexual attraction toward, and responsiveness to, members of their own sex or members of the opposite sex (e.g., gays, lesbians, heterosexuals). • • Ethnicity/national origin. A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons of the same race or national origin who share common or similar traits, languages, customs and traditions (e.g., Arabs, Hispanics). • • Disability. A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons based on their physical or mental impairments/challenges, whether such disability is temporary or permanent, congenital or acquired by heredity, accident, injury, advanced age or illness.
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