Prohibiting violations of an individual’s civil rights

HB 3476 expands West Virginia's civil rights protections by adding "gender" and "sexual orientation" to the list of characteristics that cannot be the basis for violence, intimidation, or interference with rights. It makes it a felony to willfully injure, threaten, or interfere with someone due to their race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, political affiliation, sex, gender, or sexual orientation, punishable by fines up to $5,000 or 10 years in prison. The bill also requires courts to consider bias as an aggravating factor in sentencing for other crimes and explicitly exempts self-defense instruction and lawful labor union activities. This directly affects individuals who experience or commit bias-motivated violence or intimidation, and it applies to all people within West Virginia.