An Act to advance hate-crime protections for victims who are targeted due to their gender

HD 3639 amends the state hate crime law to explicitly include "sex" and "gender" as protected categories, alongside existing terms like race and religion. This change ensures that crimes motivated by a victim's sex or gender will now qualify for enhanced penalties under the hate crime statute. The bill directly affects victims of such crimes, as well as law enforcement and courts that apply these provisions. It expands the scope of existing protections without creating new requirements or penalties.