There’s growing pressure on lawmakers to pass a hate crimes bill following the killing of Ahmaud Arbery in a Brunswick suburb.
At a May rally honoring Arbery, lawmakers vowed to honor him by making sure Georgia gets a hate crimes law on the books.
The state House already passed such a bill last year.
House Bill 426 would add additional penalties to crimes where the victim was targeted because of race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, physical disability, and mental disability. Republican Representative Chuck Efstration co-sponsored the bill.
“There’s no place for hate in Georgia. And Georgia stands against hate, and I think this bill, House Bill 426, would send a very strong message,” he said.
But before Georgia can send that message, HB 426 must pass out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, where it has sat since March of 2019. Efstration worries the Senate will not act on his bill and has been urging people to reach out to the responsible politicians.
“Contact the lieutenant governor’s office who presides over the Senate and is elected by all Georgians,” he recently urged members of two congregations in a public Zoom event.
For his part, Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan said he wants to pass a hate crimes bill this year, but he doesn’t think state senators will approve HB 426 without changes. He says the Senate will make it a better bill and is working on a draft.
“I truly believe that the piece of legislation that we can ultimately design in the Senate will be able to go over in the house and be approved by them,” he said.
But Etfstration worries if changes are made requiring another house vote, he may not be able to get it through a second time around.
“The bill passed the Georgia House by like five votes to spare, a very close vote, and my concern is any changes made in the Senate might really be a poison pill to kill the measure,” he said.
The political wrangling over HB 426 could take center stage next week when lawmakers continue their COVIC-19 interrupted legislative session. They will only meet 11 days to work things out. Georgia is one of a handful of states without a hate crimes law.
For a deeper exploration of Ahmaud Arbery’s story, listen to WABE’s podcast, “Buried Truths.” Hosted by journalist, professor, and Pulitzer-prize-winning author Hank Klibanoff, season three of “Buried Truths” explores the Arbery murder and its direct ties to racially motivated murders of the past in Georgia.
