34 U.S.C. § 12361 — Civil rights

(a) Purpose. Using Congress’s power under section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment and section 8 of Article I of the Constitution, this part aims to protect the civil rights of victims of gender-motivated violence and promote public safety, health, and activities affecting interstate commerce by creating a federal civil-rights cause of action for victims of crimes of violence motivated by gender.

(b) Right to be free from crimes of violence. All persons in the United States have the right to be free from crimes of violence motivated by gender, as subsection (d) defines that phrase.

(c) Cause of action. A person, including a person acting under the authority or appearance of authority of a State statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, who commits a crime of violence motivated by gender and thereby deprives another person of the right in subsection (b) is liable to the injured party. The injured party may sue for compensatory and punitive damages, injunctive and declaratory relief, and any other relief a court considers appropriate.

(d) Definitions. For this section: (1) “Crime of violence motivated by gender” means a crime of violence committed because of gender or on the basis of gender, and caused at least in part by hostility based on the victim’s gender. (2) “Crime of violence” means (A) an act or series of acts that would be a felony against a person, or would be a felony against property if the conduct presents a serious risk of physical injury to another, and that would fall within the meaning of State or Federal offenses described in section 16 of title 18, whether or not the acts actually resulted in criminal charges, prosecution, or conviction and whether or not the acts were committed in the special maritime, territorial, or prison jurisdiction of the United States; and (B) an act or series of acts that would constitute a felony described in subparagraph (A) except for the relationship between the person taking the action and the individual against whom it is taken.

(e) Limitation and procedures. (1) This section does not give a person a cause of action under subsection (c) for random acts of violence unrelated to gender or for acts that cannot be shown by a preponderance of the evidence to be motivated by gender within the meaning of subsection (d). (2) A prior criminal complaint, prosecution, or conviction is not required to establish the elements of a cause of action under subsection (c). (3) Federal and State courts^* have concurrent jurisdiction over actions under this part. (4) Neither section 1367 of title 28 nor subsection (c), because of a claim arising under it, gives United States courts jurisdiction over a State-law claim seeking a divorce, alimony, equitable distribution of marital property, or child-custody decree.