§ 1458 - Definitions - Vermont Statutes

§ 1458. Definitions

For purposes of this chapter only:

(1) "Complainant" means a person who has suffered damage as a result of a hate-motivated crime.

(2) "Damage" includes destruction or defacement of personal or real property, personal injury or the receipt of threats of violence. "Threats of violence" means verbal, electronic or written communication, or course of conduct, or a combination thereof, which causes reasonable fear of injury to the complainant or the complainant's property.

(3) A "hate-motivated crime" occurs whenever a person engages in conduct prohibited by chapter 31 of this title or section 1063 of this title which causes damage to the person at whom the conduct was directed.

(4) "Hate-motivated crime injunction" or "order" means an injunction or other order issued under this chapter.

(5) "Plaintiff" means the attorney general or a complainant.

(6) "Protected category" includes race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age, service in the armed forces of the United States, handicap as defined by 21 V.S.A. § 495d(5), sexual orientation and gender identity, and perceived membership in any such group. (Added 1999, No. 56, § 3.)