Porter: House GOP hate crimes law isn’t the law that Indiana wants or needs
State Rep. Gregory W. Porter (D-Indianapolis) today issued the following statement after the Indiana House passed Senate Bill 198, which outlines a hate crimes law for the state:
“SB 198 is a hate crimes law, but it is not the hate crimes law that Indiana wants or needs.
“In its present form, it serves only one purpose – to allow people like the governor to say, ‘We passed a hate crimes law. I hope this gets us off that list of five states that don’t have hate crimes laws.’
“Sorry, governor. It will not.
“SB 198 fails in several ways, but let me mention a few.
“First of all, it is the product of discussions that took place behind closed doors. In its initial form (Senate Bill 12), it provided the kind of protections that so many of us had sought for so many years. If you commit a crime because you don’t like the way a person looks, or that person’s sexual preferences, or their religion, the penalty for your crime will be increased.
“In private, the Senate Republicans changed SB 12 into nothing. It was a hate crimes bill in name alone, because it was the product of people who simply do not want to face the fact that hate crimes take place in our state.
“Their deceit held true for a while, but we had hoped that things would change. Our champion was the governor, who insisted on a list of characteristics that would serve to enhance crimes because of hatred.
“But this week, he signed off on what was included in SB 198, legislation that resulted from another secret meeting behind closed doors, this time by House Republicans. There was no committee discussion, and there has been very little floor debate on what the House GOP did.
“SB 198 does not protect people who are threatened because of their gender identity, but what’s worse is that it doesn’t protect women in Indiana. More than 50 percent of our state’s population gets no protections from SB 198.
“After his initial enthusiasm, it would seem that the governor has realized what he is supporting and wants to keep the door open for more debate. He will have to do his best selling job to members of his own party, who appear all too willing to pass SB 198 and get it out of the way as quickly as possible.
“I do not accept that. There are many bills awaiting approval this session, and I think all of them would benefit from language that assures women in Indiana will be protected from hate crimes.
“I have waited nearly 20 years to pass a hate crimes bill. I will not stop until we get it. SB 198 isn’t it.”