Hate crimes are rising, but NC Republicans refuse to act. Why? | Opinion
Five years ago, state Sen. Jay Chaudhuri introduced the Hate Crimes Prevention Act for the first time. In his eyes, the bill was a natural response to the rise in hate crimes happening across the country: the murder of three Muslim Americans in Chapel Hill, the murder of an Indian American engineer in Kansas, the killing of a counter-protester at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.
The bill didn’t budge.
In 2019, he filed it again. Still nothing.
He filed it a third time in 2021, after six Asian Americans were killed in Atlanta. The bill never even received a hearing.
Undeterred, he’s filed the bill again this year, hoping against hope that it will make progress in North Carolina’s Republican-controlled General Assembly.
The purpose of Chaudhuri’s bill is an important one: to shore up the state’s relatively weak hate crime statute. Hate crimes are only classified as a misdemeanor in North Carolina and therefore carry a relatively light penalty. Local law enforcement agencies are not required to track or report hate crime statistics, making it difficult to gauge the true scope of hate crimes across the state. Moreover, North Carolina is in the minority of states — one of about a dozen — where sexual orientation and gender identity are not considered a protected category.
The Hate Crimes Prevention Act would change all of that. In addition, it would create a statewide database for tracking hate crimes and implement training for law enforcement and prosecutors on how to handle hate crimes.
The absence of a hate crime designation for sexual orientation and gender identity is especially significant, given the recent increase in threats to the LGBTQ+ community. North Carolina was tied with Texas for the most anti-drag protests, threats and attacks in the nation, according to a report released last year. Charlotte has been listed as one of the worst cities for violence against trans women; several Black trans women have been killed in Charlotte since 2016.
But LGBTQ+ people aren’t the only community under attack. In recent months, antisemitic incidents have been on the rise in North Carolina. Antisemitic flyers have been distributed in neighborhoods, swastikas have been displayed in public places and Jewish communal leaders say they have received direct threats.
It seems straightforward — and opposition to hate crimes shouldn’t be a partisan issue. So why do Republicans oppose tougher legislation? Chaudhuri said he’s never seen a formal response from Republican leadership as to why they don’t support the bill. Rep. Nasif Majeed, who has introduced the same bill in the House nearly every session, noted that the legislature has increased the penalty for assaulting police officers to send a message of support to law enforcement, but it refuses to act on hate crime legislation.
Representatives for House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger did not respond to my request for comment on this issue.
Chaudhuri did point to Rep. Dan Bishop, who recently opposed an amendment in Congress that would declare support for federal action against hate crimes. Bishop said the amendment seemed to be advocating for “wokeism.”
While North Carolina lags on hate crime protections, its neighbors have taken action. In 2019, Tennessee became the first southern state with hate crime protections for transgender people. Even South Carolina, long one of the only states with no hate crime statute whatsoever, is making progress toward legislation that creates harsher penalties for hate crimes — and includes both sexual orientation and gender.
“The rise of hate crimes and hate groups in our state can really tear at the fabric of our democracy,” Chaudhuri said. “It’s just important for us to pass this bill to make sure that diverse communities feel welcomed and protected in our state as it is about really protecting and preserving our democracy.”
It’s a shame that North Carolina Republicans don’t seem to view that as a worthy cause.
