Gay Encounter Posted on the 'Net, Rutgers Student Jumps off the GWB

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by CarolinaPhi

I just copied this from the FBI website:

A hate crime, also known as a bias crime, is a criminal offense committed against a person, property, or society that is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity/national origin.

It doesn't specify that the crime must be a violent act, just that perpetrator targets a victim because of (in this case) sexual orientation.

This is a very general desdription. Whether an offense actually qualifies as a hate crime will depend on the specific laws of the state where the offense occurred.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

This is a very general desdription. Whether an offense actually qualifies as a hate crime will depend on the specific laws of the state where the offense occurred.

Thank you, Mystic Cat for the clarification. The Chief Justice has spoken! I guess this is why the Feds are waiting for NJ to decide how to classify this case to proceed. Sad, any way you look at this. Clementi chose to end his life, but as we've seen in a plethora of cases over this year, not everyone is psychologically capable of withstanding bullying. In every case, it never ceases to amaze me how these people forget to live by the golden rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." I'm not even religious, but this is an amazingly useful tenet.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

Thank you, Mystic Cat for the clarification. The Chief Justice has spoken! I guess this is why the Feds are waiting for NJ to decide how to classify this case to proceed.

I should have clarified that there is also a federal hate crime law that might apply in this case -- the Matthew Shepard Act. The FBI's description seems to be a description of that law.

Still, always worth remembering that there is no one definition of hate crime. The relevant definitions here will be the federal definition and New Jersey's.