A call for bias crime legislation from Rep. Gregory W. Porter and community leader David Sklar
INDIANAPOLIS – The column below was issued by State Rep. Gregory W. Porter, the legislator representing Indiana House District 96; and David Sklar, Director of Government Affairs with the Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Council.
It has been a bittersweet year. Even as we extended civil rights and equality to millions of Americans and thousands of Hoosiers, we also witnessed the tragic shootings at a church in Charleston, South Carolina; of the newscaster and cameraman in Moneta, Virginia; and most recently, at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon.
These deadly attacks come on the heels of similar mass shootings at the Kansas City Jewish Community Center and the Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Each of these horrific events had one thing in common – the perpetrators singled out their victims because of their race or religion. The shooter in Charleston targeted a storied African-American church in order to send a message, and the Roseburg shooter allegedly verified that his victims were Christian before murdering them.
Every time we hear of one of these senseless and despicable acts we are reminded that hate-based violence still takes place with shocking regularity around the country. They also remind us that Indiana is one of only five states in the country that lack bias crime statutes. We believe that it is time for this to change and will urge the Indiana General Assembly to pass comprehensive bias crimes legislation in the 2016 legislative session.
In 2013, the last year with data available, at least 75 bias crimes were reported by Indiana cities and law enforcement agencies to the FBI. When criminals target victims because of characteristics such as race and religion, they both harm their victims and threaten others who share that race or religion. For example, a burning cross may harm the yard of only one African-American family, but it coveys its racist threat to all African-Americans who see it. Although Congress enacted the federal Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009, the Department of Justice has very limited ability to investigate and prosecute local bias crimes. This is why it is important that states have their own statutes, in order to react to these crimes directly and justly when they occur.
Our proposed legislation will in no way limit free and constitutional speech or any type of legal religious practice or belief. Bias crimes statutes have been constitutionally upheld by a unanimous Supreme Court ruling in the 1993 case Wisconsin v. Mitchell and simply speak to our collective disdain for criminal behavior motivated by hatred and bigotry.
A nation’s laws should reflect its social contract with all of its citizens. Adding and enforcing a law addressing crimes based on prejudice would help align our laws with American values. It will send a strong message that hate-based violence is anathema to the principles of freedom and equality that form the cornerstone of American democracy.
We believe that it is time that Indiana join a vast majority of other states in the country and pass a strong bias-crimes statute. We hope our fellow Hoosiers will join us in this important endeavor.