During the 2019 session of the Georgia General Assembly, an amended version of a bill addressing hate crimes passed the House (96-64), and was forwarded to the Senate. The bill, sponsored by State Rep. Chuck Efstration (R-Dacula) would give sentencing guidelines for anyone convicted of targeting a victim based on race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, mental disability or physical disability.
That bill could gain a lot of attention in the upcoming session of the General Assembly after an incident last week when officials told of a 16-year-old high school student’s alleged plans to target Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Gainesville.
Georgia is one of four states that does not have hate crime laws. However, members of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus (GLBC), which is made up of 65 state representatives and senate members, said late last week after the incident in Gainesville that it plans to push for passage of a hate crime bill.
In a statement released by State Representative Karen Bennett (D-Stone Mountain), GLBC Chair, the caucus issued a statement:
“Today’s events are yet another example of how racism continues to erode the hearts of many, even our youth. We are saddened by the notion of a 16-year-old girl targeting a black church with the intention to commit harm. We thank the Gainesville police and other law enforcement officials for their swift action to prevent yet another national tragedy. Now more than ever we need to end the incivility of hatred and further advance the process of becoming ‘one nation, under God, indivisible.’ As a caucus, we intend to press for state policy in the form of passing a hate crime bill that protects the civil rights of all and further penalizes those who commit hate crimes. We will not allow such actions to define us, but rather push us to do better and be better.”
Georgia joins South Carolina, Wyoming and Arkansas as the only states that do not have hate crime laws on the books.
Under House Bill 426 that came up last year, a person convicted of a crime and proved to have been motivated by bias would face punishment ranging from three months to a year and a fine of up to $5,000 for a misdemeanor offense to at least two years in prison for a felony offense.
In July, a study conducted by Safehome.org found that hate crimes are rising in Georgia at a higher rate than that in every other state in the country except for one. According to that study, hate crimes rose by 219 percent in Georgia between 2013 and 2017. Wyoming was found to have increased hate crimes the most, with an increase of 2,200 percent.
