The 2018 legislative
session begins on January 8 and one Georgia lawmaker says she’s planning on
introducing legislation to expand the definition of hate crimes in Georgia.
State Representative
Meagan Hanson, a Republican attorney from Brookhaven, announced Wednesday that
she will carry a bill to increase punishments for crimes committed against
persons in certain classifications.
Hanson says the
legislation would aim to match the federal protections in place, which
cover protected classes of people based on race, religion, national
origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, mental disability and
physical disability and provided additional punishments for crimes committed
against anyone from those groups.
In a press conference
Wednesday, Hanson said the law is needed to combat “an increase in the
resurgence of tribal-based animosities that are motivated solely by group
relationships over the past year.”
“Attacks that are motivated by hate for a group are different from
typical crimes aimed at individual targets, and they are designed to create
fear among those people in that group and oppress the entire community,” Hanson said.
Comments
Political
calculation: living in a district with many Democrats, proposing (not even
passing) "hate crime" legislation will help with re-election.
Political
flaw: voters who are Democrats from "protected groups" think
Republicans hate them. Their vote isn't changing without education and
consistency. They won't be voting Republican unless they understand that
Republicans believe in equal individual rights and not pandering: certain
victims aren't more important than others.
This
doesn't educate, and it's not going to convert Democrats. This type of law is
how we depress Republican turnout and lose seats.
Alex
Johnson
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