Senate Bill No. 422
(By Senators Snyder, Kessler, Mitchell, Walker, McCabe and Redd)
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[Introduced February 8, 2000; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section twenty-one, article six,
chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to expanding the
comprehensiveness of the section relative to violations of
individual's civil rights for the purposes of criminal
liability.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty-one, article six, chapter sixty-one of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6. CRIMES AGAINST THE PEACE.
§61-6-21. Prohibiting violations of an individual's civil rights;
penalties.
(a) All persons within the boundaries of the state of West
Virginia have the right to be free from any violence, or
intimidation by threat of violence, committed against their persons
or property because of their actual or perceived race, color,
religion, ancestry, national origin, political affiliation,
disability, or sex or sexual orientation.
(b) If any person does by force or threat of force, willfully
injure, intimidate or interfere with, or attempt to injure,
intimidate or interfere with, or oppress or threaten any other
person in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege
secured to him or her by the constitution or laws of the state of
West Virginia or by the constitution or laws of the United States,
because of such other person's actual or perceived race, color,
religion, ancestry, national origin, political affiliation,
disability, or sex or sexual orientation, he or she shall be guilty
of a felony and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than five
thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.
(c) If any person conspires with another person or persons to
willfully injure, oppress, threaten or intimidate or interfere with
any citizen because of such other person's actual or perceived
race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, political
affiliation, disability, or sex or sexual orientation in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him or
her by the constitution or laws of the state of West Virginia or by
the constitution or laws of the United States, and in willfull
furtherance thereof to assemble with one or more persons for the
purpose of teaching any technique or means capable of causing
property damage, bodily injury or death when such person or persons
intend to employ such techniques or means to violate this section,
each such person shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction,
shall be fined not more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned
not more than ten years, or both.
(d) The fact that a person committed a felony or misdemeanor,
or attempted to commit a felony, because of the victim's actual or
perceived race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin,
political affiliation, disability, or sex or sexual orientation
shall be considered a circumstance in aggravation of any crime in
imposing sentence.
(e) Nothing contained in this section makes unlawful the
teaching of any technique in self-defense.
(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed so as to make
it unlawful nor to prohibit nor, in any manner, to impede or to
interfere with any person in conducting labor union or labor union
organizing activities.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to expand the
comprehensiveness of the section concerning what causes a civil
rights violation for purposes of criminal responsibility.)