Cite as: 508 U. S. 476 (1993)
Opinion of the Court
ity among state high courts on the constitutionality of statutes similar to Wisconsin's penalty-enhancement provision,4 506 U. S. 1033 (1992). We reverse.
Mitchell argues that we are bound by the Wisconsin Supreme Court's conclusion that the statute punishes bigoted thought and not conduct. There is no doubt that we are bound by a state court's construction of a state statute. R. A. V., supra, at 381; New York v. Ferber, 458 U. S. 747, 769, n. 24 (1982); Terminiello v. Chicago, 337 U. S. 1, 4 (1949). In Terminiello, for example, the Illinois courts had defined the term " 'breach of the peace,' " in a city ordinance prohibiting disorderly conduct, to include " 'stirs the public to anger . . . or creates a disturbance.' " Id., at 4. We held this con-4 Several States have enacted penalty-enhancement provisions similar to the Wisconsin statute at issue in this case. See, e. g., Cal. Penal Code Ann. § 422.7 (West 1988 and Supp. 1993); Fla. Stat. § 775.085 (1991); Mont. Code Ann. § 45-5-222 (1992); Vt. Stat. Ann., Tit. 13, § 1455 (Supp. 1992). Proposed federal legislation to the same effect passed the House of Representatives in 1992, H. R. 4797, 102d Cong., 2d Sess. (1992), but failed to pass the Senate, S. 2522, 102d Cong., 2d Sess. (1992). The state high courts are divided over the constitutionality of penalty-enhancement statutes and analogous statutes covering bias-motivated offenses. Compare, e. g., State v. Plowman, 314 Ore. 157, 838 P. 2d 558 (1992) (upholding Oregon statute), with State v. Wyant, 64 Ohio St. 3d 566, 597 N. E. 2d 450 (1992) (striking down Ohio statute); 169 Wis. 2d 153, 485 N. W. 2d 807 (1992) (case below) (striking down Wisconsin statute). According to amici, bias-motivated violence is on the rise throughout the United States. See, e. g., Brief for the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium et al. as Amici Curiae 5-11; Brief for the Anti-Defamation League et al. as Amici Curiae 4-7; Brief for the City of Atlanta et al. as Amici Curiae 3-12. In 1990, Congress enacted the Hate Crimes Statistics Act, Pub. L. 101-275, § 1(b)(1), 104 Stat. 140, codified at 28 U. S. C. § 534 (note) (1988 ed., Supp. III), directing the Attorney General to compile data "about crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity." Pursuant to the Act, the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported in January 1993, that 4,558 bias-motivated offenses were committed in 1991, including 1,614 incidents of intimidation, 1,301 incidents of vandalism, 796 simple assaults, 773 aggravated assaults, and 12 murders. See Brief for the Crown Heights Coalition et al. as Amici Curiae 1A-7A.
483
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