Nevada Senate committee approves bill adding attacks on transgender individuals to hate crimes list

A bill adding attacks on transgender persons to a list of hate crimes and stiffening the penalty for offenders was unanimously approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee today. Sen. Patricia Spearman, D-Las Vegas, the sponsor of SB139, said the committee has shown justice in its passage. The measure, which goes to the full Senate for a vote, allows an additional sentence of up to 20 years if the attack was motivated by the transgender of an individual.