Abstract
The majority of the research being conducted on hate crime laws deals with civil liberties issues; however, there has been little research conducted on the creation of these laws. In 1986, Ohio joined a growing number of states in enacting hate crime legislation. This article involves a historical analysis of the creation of Ohio’s ethnic intimidation law. Through the use of interviews and archival data, it was found that interest group activity, media campaigns, and a specific triggering event were all influential in the process of enacting this legislation in Ohio. While these findings cannot be generalized to the creation of laws in general, or hate crime laws in other states, this study does fill a gap in the knowledge about the process of enacting laws.
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Becker, P.J. The creation of Ohio’s ethnic intimidation law: Triggering events, media campaigns, and interest group activity. Am J Crim Just 23, 247–265 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02887274
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02887274
Keywords
- Hate Crime
- Hate Crime Legislation
- Interest Group Activity
- United States Commission
- Cross Burning