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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Gov. Jon Huntsman has signed into law a compromise hate crimes bill focuses on a crime's impact on the community.
Rep. David Litvack, D-Salt Lake and a sponsor of the new law and of many of the previous, failed bills, and Rep. LaVar Christensen, R-Draper, who worked on the compromise, were on hand Wednesday for the signing.
"This was a culmination of prolonged and collaborative efforts," Huntsman said Wednesday.
Litvack said the bill is only a small step in building a more welcoming and respectful community.
"We all have the responsibility to be bridge-builders, if we truly want to live in the community that HB90 will set the path for," Litvack said.
Previous bills sought to increase the punishment of those whose criminal acts stemmed from hatred based on such issues as race, religion or sexual orientation.
Some opposed the principle of increasing punishment on the basis of motive, and some said it would punish people for their thoughts or violate their free-speech rights.
But much of the opposition was against increasing the penalties for persecutors of gays. It was argued that that would create special rights for homosexuals.
Previous bills also would have raised the criminal degree of the offense by one level. For example a third-degree felony, punishable by zero to five years in prison, would be raised to a second-degree felony, punishable by one to 15 years in prison, if the offense met the criteria for being a hate crime.
The bill that was passed does not mention the specific categories, such as race or sexual orientation.
Instead, it focuses on the impact of a crime on the community -- not what motivated the crime.
And it does not raise the level of the offense, but does allow judges and the parole board to consider it as an aggravating factor.
Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said the bill provides the tools law enforcement officers and prosecutors have long asked for to punish those who commit hate crimes.
"They will stay locked up longer," he said. "That is a great tool for us. ... We're going to put more than lip service to tolerance."
Christensen said the new law reflects "the inherent sensitivity that we come from a common creator.
"The challenge was in trying to find the right words," he said. " 'Aggravating factors' was the breakthrough."
Litvack praised as courage of conservatives, including Shurtleff, who supported the bill.
"I'm a Democrat," Litvack said. "I can say anything I want about hate crimes and I'll get re-elected."
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
