On April 20, 2010 the Florida House of Representatives voted 80-28 on a bill (HB 11) that would increase the punishment for a crime committed out of prejudice against a homeless person by one degree.  In a state where over the last 11 years more than 170 biased motivated attacks on the homeless have been documented, this new legislation would add homeless people to existing hate crime laws that deter and punish people taking advantage of the most vulnerable segment of our population.  Soon, the Senate will vote on the bills counterpart, SB 506.

Over the last 11 years the National Coalition for the Homeless has documented nearly 1000 acts of bias motivated violence against homeless people.  Of those attacks, 281 were killed.  In other words, 1 in 4 attacks on the homeless end in death.  How does this compare to other protected populations?  Between 1999 and 2009 101 documented deaths occurred among all groups protected under federal hate crime laws.  The number of bias motivated deaths among homeless people alone nearly triples what the federal laws currently protect.  Maryland, Washington, DC, Maine, and Alaska have implemented some form of hate crime protection for their homeless populations and Florida may been next.

Florida is no stranger to attacks against the homeless.  No other state has had as many documented incidents of violence against the homeless.  Currently, Florida hate crime laws protect a victim's race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, mental or physical disability or advanced age.  Join us in petitioning the Florida Senate to add homelessness to its protected classes.