Criminal Civil Rights Violations

A criminal violation requires the use of force or a threat of force. The alleged perpetrator can be prosecuted under various federal criminal civil rights statutes, such as those laws that prohibit hate crimes, bias crimes, and human trafficking. Usually, just one or a few people are charged with a violation.

Voter Intimidation

Since the passage of the Voting Rights Act, obvious methods of voter discrimination were replaced by subtler--but arguably more effective--tactics meant to "disenfranchise" minority voters through intimidation. Although historically limited to African-American voters, incidents of voter intimidation are now being reported with greater frequency in Latino communities. Voter intimidation occurs when individual voters or, more likely, a group of voters decide not to vote because they have been threatened or mislead. For example, minority citizens who are eligible to register to vote may be given incorrect information about registration requirements. Voters may be confused or harassed to the point that they do not wish to appear at the polling places.

Proposed Employment Non-Discrimination Act

Civil rights organizations, as well as many major corporations, have sought the passage of the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) since 1996. So far, these efforts have been unsuccessful. The legislators who have sponsored ENDA say they have done so because sexual orientation in the workplace is commonplace and unacceptable. The purpose of ENDA is to prohibit intentional sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace. ENDA would accomplish this goal by adding sexual orientation to the list of protected traits or characteristics that presently includes race, national origin, gender, religion, age, and disability.

Terrorist Screening

The Terrorist Screening Center is a multi-agency center that was established to consolidate and integrate various terrorist "watch lists" and to provide constant operational support for federal screeners. When the Terrorist Screening Database is fully functional, federal agencies such as the Transportation Security Administration should be able to access it online, in real time. Plans include making the Terrorist Screening Database capable of storing "biometric" information such as fingerprints. Private companies will be able to submit names of individuals for screening for any connection to terrorism.

Sexual Orientation Discrimination in Housing

The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits intentional discrimination in the rental, sale, and financing of housing due to a prospective renter or buyer's race, color, national origin, sex, religion, disability, or family status. The term "sexual orientation" is not among those traits protected by the Fair Housing Act. As a result, the Fair Housing Act does not offer protection against sexual orientation discrimination.