Civil Rights Flashpoints

Date: November 4, 2009

• Hate Crimes Sentenced in Kansas:  This fall, four individuals in Davenport, Kansas were sentenced to prison for a 2007 racially-motivated attack on two African-Americans at an Iowa motel bar. Current state and federal hate crimes laws only applied because the defendants were charged with "interfering with federally protected facilities" while assaulting the men. The Matthew Shepard… will eliminate the requirement that a bias-based violent crime must be committed on federal property to be considered a hate crime.
• Iowa Insurance Company Accused of Religious Discrimination:  While an insurance company in Des Moines was admonished by the U.S. Department of Justice for offering faith-based homeowner and renter insurance policies, GuideOne is allegedly continuing its discriminatory practices for its auto insurance program. According the federal complaint, "churchgoers" and "persons of faith" have been presented with special discounts, through its auto insurance program, entitled "Faithguard."
• Voting Rights Violations Still an Issue for American Indians, Report Says:  According to a new report by the ACLU, American Indians in five western states continue to experience discriminatory election practices despite the movement for equal rights. The still-existing pattern of disfranchisement includes discriminatory voter registration practices, burdensome voter ID mandates, deficient language assistance at the polls and Voting Rights Act violations.