Swarens: Indiana needs a hate crimes law
Messaging matters in public life. It matters a lot.
What kind of message then did Rep. Thomas Washburne send this year when he said that the Indiana House committee he leads didn’t have time even to discuss proposed hate crimes legislation?
No time? Somehow Indiana lawmakers found time this year to pass a bill that blocks local governments from banning or taxing plastic bags in grocery stores. In previous sessions, legislators took time to approve resolutions establishing a state pie (sugar cream) and a state firearm (the Grouseland Rifle).
Legislators clearly have time to invest in things they care about — like plastic bags, pie and guns. But finding time to take a stand against hate-filled criminal acts that target vulnerable citizens? Sorry, we have to run.
In fairness to the Indiana Senate, members of that august chamber easily passed a hate crimes bill this year. It was in the House where lawmakers failed at time management.
Still, there’s hope. Legislators in a few weeks will return to the Statehouse like I do to the dessert table — with fresh energy and renewed commitment to sample not only old favorites but also to explore the unfamiliar. (Well, maybe that’s just me).
And, thanks to state Sen. Greg Taylor, lawmakers will find a new proposal on the legislative menu designed to better protect Hoosiers targeted because of their race, religion, gender, gender identity, disability, ancestry, national origin or sexual orientation. Taylor’s bill would add up to five years of prison time for crimes motivated by bias.
Swarens, you bleeding-heart conservative, why in the name of Oliver P. Morton does Indiana need a hate crimes law now after 200 years without one?
First, thank you. I am. Second, glad you asked.
Our neighbors fall victim to hate crimes more often than you might think. More than once a week on average, according to FBI data, Hoosiers are targeted for violence or vandalism because of who they are, where they come from or what they believe. The frequency of such crimes is enough to merit lawmakers’ attention.
Critics often argue that arson, assault and other violent acts already are against the law. So why the need for further punishment based on motivation?
The answer: Judges and juries often take into account a defendant’s motivation, both in determining guilt and in handing down an appropriate sentence. If a person is hit by a car, it may be an unfortunate accident, criminal negligence or attempted murder. It’s up to the justice system to decide the driver’s intent.
Why balk then at allowing judges to slap a neo-Nazi with a tougher than normal sentence for throwing a rock through the window of a Jewish deli? It’s vandalism, and vandalism is against the law, but clearly the message sent by that crime matters, and the neo-Nazi deserves a much stiffer penalty than a bored teen who took out his frustrations on a neighbor’s picture window.
Finally, let’s talk about timing. We are a month removed from an election where racial, religious and ethnic tensions were dialed up to dangerous levels. The fear and anger generated by a bruising election season won’t dissipate quickly. Those are just facts.
Another fact is that Republicans won just about everything worth winning in Indiana last month. With that power comes responsibility, and a part of Republican leaders’ responsibility is to help mend fractures inflicted in this year’s beyond-contentious political cycle.
What better message for Republicans to send — how much good will they could offer to fellow Hoosiers — if they were to take up Taylor’s bill and pass it, not because they have to, but because they choose to make it a priority.
For decades, Indiana’s leaders have resisted a broad national trend. Forty-five other states already have adopted hate crime laws. Indiana now stands with Arkansas, Georgia, South Carolina and Wyoming as the only states that still refuse to recognize that crimes rooted in prejudice deserve special sanction.
That refusal to act has sent a message, unintentionally or otherwise, that Indiana isn’t willing to do all it can to protect racial, ethnic, religious and other minority citizens from crimes motivated by prejudice. It’s time to change the message. It’s time to find the courage and the compassion — and the time — to act.
Contact Swarens at tim.swarens@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @tswarens.