Hate Crimes Legislation Passes Georgia Legislature Without Protections for Police

Both chambers of the Georgia legislature have approved legislation adding hate crime statutes to the Georgia code and the measure now heads to the Governor’s desk for signature.

House Bill 426 had a long path to passage, beginning back in 2019. The Senate, led by

Picture credit – Geoff Duncan

Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan, refused to take up the bill during the 2019 legislative session and the first half of the 2020 session.  It was not until the death of Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick made headlines across the country that Duncan decided to give consideration to the legislation due to the political environment that gave way for his support.

The Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, and Georgia Power had all professed their support of the measure in recent weeks.

The bill was revived last week when lawmakers returned to the Capitol after a three month COVID-induced hiatus and Duncan held a press conference seeking to overhaul the legislation all on his own. Duncan sought to include veteran status, homelessness, those exercising their First Amendment, and those participating in civil rights activities to the list of protected people – though he garnered little support for his idea.

HB 426 briefly lost support from Democrats and anti-police activists late last week when a Senate committee added ‘law enforcement officers’ to the long list of protected classes under the provision. The language was removed Tuesday and added into its own bill Tuesday – HB 838, which creates a Peace Officers Bill of Rights.

The final version provides sentencing guidelines for anyone who commits a crime based on race, sex, sexual orientation, color, religion, national origin, mental disability, or physical disability. The guidelines would apply for felonies and in misdemeanor offenses of simple assault, simple battery, criminal trespass, battery, and misdemeanor theft.

The measure passed the House in a vote of 127-38. In the Senate, the measure passed 47-6.

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Governor Kemp has already said he will sign the measure, pending legal review.