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2023 SESSION

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HB 2208 Jewish faith or ethnicity; addressing discrimination against persons.

Introduced by: Terry G. Kilgore | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles | history

SUMMARY AS PASSED HOUSE:

Hate crimes and discrimination; anti-Semitism; penalties. Provides that as used in the Code of Virginia, "race," "religion," or "national origin" shall include persons of the Jewish faith or ethnicity; "racial, religious, or ethnic animosity" shall include animosity toward the Jewish faith or ethnicity; "race," "religious conviction," or "national origin" shall include persons of the Jewish faith or ethnicity; and "race," "religion," or "ethnic and national origin" shall include persons of the Jewish faith or ethnicity.

SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:

Hate crimes and discrimination; anti-Semitism; penalties. Provides that it is the policy of the Commonwealth to safeguard all individuals within the Commonwealth from unlawful discrimination in employment and in places of public accommodation because of anti-Semitism. The bill also adds victims who are intentionally selected because of anti-Semitism to the categories of victims whose intentional selection for a hate crime involving assault, assault and battery, or trespass for the purpose of damaging another's property results in a higher criminal penalty for the offense and adds anti-Semitism to the categories of hate crimes that are to be reported to the central repository of information regarding hate crimes maintained by the Virginia State Police. The bill provides that a person who is subjected to acts of intimidation or harassment, violence directed against his person, or vandalism to his real or personal property, where such acts are motivated by anti-Semitism, may bring a civil action to recover his damages. The bill also provides that no provider or user of an interactive computer service on the Internet shall be liable for any action voluntarily taken by it in good faith to restrict access to material that the provider or user considers to be intended to incite hatred on the basis of anti-Semitism.