Historic hate crimes bill signed into law in Georgia

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When lawmakers returned this month from a three-month hiatus due to COVID-19, they revived the legislation. This time around, the revised legislation would make hate crimes punishable by one to five years in prison and require the implementation of a database specifically for reporting hate crimes.

Nearly unanimous support

The Senate passed the bill 47-6 after two hours of emotional floor speeches. It then went to the House where it passed 127-38.

“We have a long history in Georgia of embedded discrimination. We can’t deny it. We can’t run from it, but we can change it,” Senator Bill Cowsert of Athens said on the floor.

This momentous decision follows the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man who was attacked while jogging in a Glynn County neighborhood last February. According to Cobb County DA, Joyette Holmes, the defendants in the Arbery case will not be charged under the new hate bill retroactively.

When the Bill passed, Rep. Calvin Smyre of Columbus, the longest-serving member of the state legislature and co-sponsor of the bill, expressed his joy through tears. “I’ve had a lot of moments in my career, but today is the finest,” Rep. Smyre said.