We are contacting members of the South Carolina Senate to ask for their support for S.0014 and H.3427, bills to expand the definition of and penalties for hate crimes.

Hate crimes are perpetrated by the worst in society, violence committed in the name of hate and pride deserves stronger condemnation for its harmful nature to American values of unity and equality. Currently, South Carolina is one of only four states which does not have laws to criminalize acts and violence committed on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or disability; and this needs to change.

In a state which experienced a total of 68 recorded hate crimes in 32 different cities in 2019 (according to the most recent data from the FBI), there is an urgent need for justice to be served to perpetrators of such heinous acts. I urge you to visit this link to see that violence is committed in our very own communities and a lack of comprehensive legislation makes it more difficult to convict criminals to the appropriate degree.

Every day that passes without adequate sentencing of the criminals who commit hate crimes is a day that South Carolinians can not confidently say that hate has no place in SC. Furthermore, eradicating violence committed by hateful motivations is not a partisan issue.