County Officials Laud 2 New Hate-Crime Laws : Human rights: The bills, one authored by Assemblyman Tom Umberg, toughen the punishment for engaging in violent or threatening behavior based on bias.

Orange County law enforcement authorities and human rights advocates on Monday applauded the enactment of two new laws aimed at fighting what officials view as a rising trend in hate crimes.

The laws, which go into effect on Jan. 1, will stiffen penalties for people engaging in violent or threatening behavior based on race, gender, religion, age, disabilities or sexual preference. They also establish tougher sentences and higher civil awards and include provisions for offenders to take ethnic sensitivity classes, authorities said.

On Monday, Gov. Pete Wilson signed into law a bill authored by Assemblyman Tom Umberg (D--Garden Grove) that makes it a felony to leave a burning cross on a lawn or to desecrate any religious symbol as an “act of racial, ethnic or religious terrorism.”

Umberg, a former federal prosecutor, said that state law has long been inadequate in dealing with perpetrators of hate crimes. Sentences as light as six months can fail to send the message that hate crimes will not be tolerated, Umberg said.

The cross-burning bill allows for sentences of up to three years in prison, Umberg said.

“It makes it worth the prosecutor’s time,” he said.

A more comprehensive state Senate bill, which Umberg supported, was signed by Wilson over the weekend.

That law, authored by state Sen. Bill Lockyer (D-San Leandro), does not expand the definition of a hate crime but gives prosecutors more power in punishing those convicted of hate crimes, Wilson spokesman Bill Livingstone said.

Orange County authorities agreed.

“It will definitely provide more tools to go after people who are committing crimes motivated primarily by hate,” said Rusty Kennedy, executive director of the Orange County Human Relations Commission.

Faced with an increase in reported instances of hate crimes--from burning crosses to physical assaults--in the county, Kennedy said he hopes that there will be fewer such crimes in the future. He warned, however, that they will never disappear entirely.

“The real sickos are going to do this sick trip no matter what you do to deter them,” Kennedy said. “But there are some who are more marginal. It’s that group whose behavior we want to affect. To some extent this will deter them.”

In a prepared statement, Lockyer said the legislation is the toughest in the nation. Passed by the Senate on Sept. 9, the bill reached the governor’s desk on Sept. 20.

It not only increases the maximum penalty for misdemeanor crimes from six months to one year in jail but also adds one to three years to sentences for felonies motivated by intolerance of racial, religious or sexual differences, according to Lockyer’s office.

In addition, the ceiling for damages in lawsuits by victims of hate crimes was raised from $10,000 to $25,000. The cap on punitive damages was removed. Courts also will be able to require perpetrators to attend ethnic sensitivity programs.

“Hate crime is not only devastating to its immediate victim but is a threat to the fabric of society and to our democratic system,” Lockyer said in the statement.

The Lockyer bill was endorsed by most law enforcement and human rights groups in the state, said Livingstone. Among those agencies and organizations that supported the bill were the California Peace Officers Assn., the NAACP, the California District Attorneys Assn., the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Orange County Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi said prosecutors have noted a marked increase this past year in the number of hate crimes reported in Orange County. Although a large number can be attributed to violence between ethnically diverse gang members, he said, hate crimes touch all neighborhoods.

Early in the year, hate crimes against Middle Easterners--or those thought to have come from the Middle East--jumped significantly because of the Persian Gulf War, officials reported. There has also been a rise in tensions between Latinos and Asians, most notably Vietnamese. Capizzi said he hopes the new law will send a message to the various communities that hate crimes are not acceptable.

Mission Viejo City Councilman Robert D. Breton, a state assistant attorney general who spearheaded a hate-crime task force in that city, said that although the Lockyer bill is a “step in the right direction,” he feels that all hate crimes should be felonies.

“It’s really too lenient,” Breton said. “We have to go a lot farther to deter and punish this most despicable type of crime.”

He called on all elected officials to take an active role in fighting hate crimes.

“It takes a concerted effort on the part of all agencies,” he said. “It’s going to require that elected officials take a strong and a visible stand whenever (hate crimes) occur in the communities in order to show the bigots that we mean business.”

Stiffer Penalties

A new California law has increased the stakes for those who commit bias-motivated crimes. Among other provisions, the new law:

* Doubles sentences, from six months to a year, for using or threatening to use force to interfere with someone’s civil rights.

* Adds two to four years to sentences for felony hate crimes committed in concert with others.

* Adds one to three years to sentences for felonies motivated by bias.

* Allows an increase in victim civil recompense from $10,000 to $25,000 in actual damages and removes cap on punitive damages.

* Allows authorities to keep the identity of a hate-crime victim secret.