NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7792
SPONSOR: Benedetto TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to establishing a rebuttable
presumption of a hate crime when certain crimes are committed on, in or
upon a house of worship
PURPOSE:
This legislation would create a rebuttable presumption that any crime as
defined in subdivision three of section 485 of the penal law that occurs
on, in, or upon a house of worship is a hate crime and provides a defi-
nition for a house of worship.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends section 485.05 of penal law by adding a new subdivision
2-a which creates a rebuttable presumption that a crime occurring on,
in, or upon a house of worship is a hate crime.
Section 2 provides the definition of a house of worship.
Section 3 establishes the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
In recent years, religiously-based hate crimes have continued to
increase. According to the most recent data available from the FBI, a
total of 1,590 incidents of hate crimes related to religion were
reported in 2021(1). In New York State, there are unfortunately numerous
examples of vandalism at houses of worship, including a 2022 incident at
St. Margaret Catholic Church in Buffalo, where multiple statues were
severely damaged with the use of a sledgehammer.(2) Also in 2022, a
synagogue in Brooklyn was defaced with antisemitic graffiti and threat-
ening the safety of the local Jewish community (3). These incidents,
just two of many, do not result only in property damage, which can be
repaired. They also spread fear in the community and lead to a silencing
of religious activity, a protected First Amendment right. This legis-
lation would create a rebuttable presumption of a hate crime when
certain crimes are committed on, in, or upon a house of•worship such as
a church, mosque, or synagogue.
LEGISLATIVE. HISTORY:
New bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take immediately.
1 https://www.justice.gov/crs/highlights/2021-hate-crime-statistics
2 https://www.wivb.com/news/crime/buffalo-police-investigating- dama-
geat-st-margaret-church/
3.https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/brooklyn-synagogue- congregation-
beth-shalom-vandalized-with-hateful-message/
