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.

News Flash! Open Letter to Governor Kemp
and the General Assembly

—“No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws.”
Constitution of the State of Georgia, Article I, Section I, Paragraph II
—“No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge … nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
– The Constitution of the United States, Article XIV, Section 1

Governor Brian Kemp
Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan
Speaker of the House David Ralston

Re: Hate Crimes Law, O.C.G.A. 17-10-17

Gentlemen:
Laws providing enhanced penalties for crimes against select members of society discriminate against the remaining members of society, and blatantly defy the Constitution of the State of Georgia and The Constitution of the United States.

Please do not allow passage of bills – including hate crimes bills – that violate the equal protection clauses of our constitutions, both state and federal.

Question: Does the 2004 opinion of Georgia’s seven-member (now nine-member) Supreme Court (judicial branch of government) override/eradicate/repeal the law introduced in 2000 as S.B. 390, which passed the 236-member General Assembly (legislative branch of government) and became Act No. 486, O.C.G.A. 17-10-17?

Fact: O.C.G.A. 17-10-17 introduced in 2000 as S.B. 390 is an equal protection, non-discriminatory law that, regardless of criminal/victim identity, authorizes enhanced penalties for crimes proven to be based on bias or prejudice.

Question: Can or will the Georgia General Assembly retain/reiterate/affirm/regard O.C.G.A. 17-10-17 as a valid constitutionally-compliant law?

Sincerely,
Sue Ella Deadwyler

Note: The above letter was mailed to the three officials on June 5, 2020.
The Georgia General Assembly reconvenes June 15, 2020!

Read more concerning the proposed hate crimes bill here.

Seven Days Left, Session Ends April 2nd

To pass in the 40-day Georgia General Assembly, legislation must be half through the process before Cross-Over Day which is Day 30 of the 40-day session. Since the 30th day was March 11th, no House bill can pass this session, unless it passed the House and was introduced in the Senate on/before March 8th. Likewise, no Senate bill can pass this session, unless it passed the Senate and was introduced in the House on/before March 8th. However, an entire bill may be amended onto other legislation that passed either House or Senate by the end of March 8th, if the subjects of the bill to be amended and the additional language to be attached are germane.

Bills Poised to Pass
H.B. 426 Hate Crime, Enhances Penalties for crimes, actually or perceived to be, based on the victim’s sexual orientation or gender. It passed the House 96-64 March 7th, requiring added penalties for suspects of certain crimes. They would be sentenced for their thoughts in addition to the sentence required for the crime. This creates a two-tiered penalty – a regular penalty for a crime involving “straight” individuals and a stiffer penalty for victims in alternate lifestyles.
ACTION – Oppose. All crimes are hate crimes. This values some victims more than others. Call Judiciary Committee Senators Stone, Ch., 404 463-1314; Cowsert, V-Ch., 463-1366; Tillery, Sec., 656-0089; Heath, 656-3943; Jones, H., 463-3942; Kennedy, 656-0045; Ligon, 463-1383; Parent, 656-5109; Rhett, 656-0054; Strickland 656-7454.

• To read the rest of this newsletter in PDF format, please click here.