<\/a>Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage, speaks to the media in this file photo from 2017. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
“The criminal code for centuries has taken into account ‘mens rea,’” Josephson said, using a Latin term for criminal intent<\/a>. “That’s why we have manslaughter and murder in the first degree, both of which result in a homicide.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Under the proposed legislation, the state would have to prove a crime was committed because of bias against LGBTQ people, just like with other hate crimes. The burden of proof in those cases is on the state, Josephson said, meaning a defendant would not have to prove a lack of bias.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Alaska currently has laws for crimes based on “race, sex, color, creed, physical or mental disability, ancestry, or national origin,” according to state statute<\/a>. At least 46 states and Washington, D.C. have some form of hate crime law, according to the Department of Justice<\/a>. Alaska has hate crime laws but does not require the collection of data on hate crimes, according to DOJ.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t According to a list compiled by the NAACP<\/a>, 31 states have hate crime laws protections for sexual orientation and 17 for gender identity.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Willis, who lives with her wife in Sterling, was assaulted in her home<\/a> during a power outage on the morning of Dec. 9, the Peninsula Clarion<\/a> reported. In the weeks leading up to the assault, Willis found a note containing homophobic slurs left on her truck and then a week later found the vehicle’s windshield smashed.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t