Worst Bill that Passed this Session
Hate Crimes Law means Lifestyle
determines Penalty for Crime
For more than twenty years, the majority of Georgia legislators refused to provide civil rights protection based on sexual behavior, although such bills and resolutions were introduced, repeatedly, in both House and Senate. Past legislators, who were aware that sexual orientation and gender identity are not biological terms that identify males and females, declined to elevate sexual behavior into the strata of civil rights.
But that changed when H.B. 426 passed the House March 7, 2019. The next day it went into the Senate Judiciary Committee, where it languished until June 23, 2020, when the Senate passed it 47 – 61 and the House passed it 127 – 382. When the governor signed it June 26, 2020, it became Act 329. Senate Democrats praised Lt. Governor Duncan for raising it from the dead.
All crimes are hate crimes, as suggested by the language of LC 28 9829S, the Senate Judiciary Committee substitute. But that version was discarded quickly and replaced by the bill’s previous text which provides civil rights status for “sexual orientation” and “gender,” that, by definition, include behaviors previously deemed illegal in the U.S. and other countries
Identical crimes should require identical punishment. When penalties for identical crimes are unequal, certain victims are deemed more valuable than other victims. Since crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity now require greater punishment, the new law uses lifestyle to discriminate against biological identity, although The Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Georgia mandate equal treatment under the law.
The New Hate Crimes Law:
- H.B. 426 provides enhanced penalties for crimes based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender, mental disability or physical disability.
- Misdemeanor sentences will have at least six months but as much as 12 months added to imprisonment, plus a fine not to exceed $5,000.
Felony penalties will be enhanced by at least two additional years in prison, plus a fine not to exceed $5,000. - Investigating officers report annual bias crime incidents (with/without arrest) to the GBI.
- To read a recap of the 2020 Georgia Legislative Session, please click here.