bonnie bruno

When the state removes a group from its hate crime statute, what message are we sending? Violence remains illegal. But hate crime laws exist to recognize when violence is driven by bias — and to signal that such bias-motivated harm carries particular weight. If we remove gender identity from that framework, how should transgender residents interpret that change? What are they meant to understand about the state’s willingness to recognize bias directed at them? Laws communicate values. What value does this communicate?