SC House passes hate crime bill with ease. Here’s why it got bipartisan support

The South Carolina House passed a hate crimes bill on Wednesday without any debate, putting the state one step closer to joining 47 other states with similar laws already on the books.

The bill, which passed by a vote of 79-29, could become law by the end of the year if it passes the Senate.

The legislation would specifically allow prosecutors to seek additional penalties for crimes committed on the basis of hate because of a person’s actual or perceived race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, national origin or physical or mental disability.

Under the bill, for violent crimes such as murder, assault, armed robbery or criminal sexual misconduct, the penalties could be increased by up to five years imprisonment and an additional fine up to $10,000.

Currently, South Carolina does not have its own hate crimes law.

If a crime is committed on the basis of hate, state prosecutors can only prosecute the crime itself. However, federal officials could choose to step in and charge the offender under the federal hate crimes law.

The bill has broad support from the business community, law enforcement and equality advocates. The University of South Carolina recently joined dozens of businesses who signed onto an effort by the S.C. Chamber of Commerce to urge lawmakers to pass hate crimes legislation.

Religious groups opposed the bill at every step in the legislative process, arguing it could be used to infringe on religious liberty.

“Protecting against violent criminal acts motivated by hatred is not a liberal or conservative issue,” state Rep. Weston Newton, R-Beaufort, said on Wednesday. “It’s not a Black or a white issue, and it’s not a gay or a straight issue.”

Newton said it was essential for South Carolina to pass the bill so it would no longer be one of three states without a hate crimes bill. He said the business community had advocated hard for the bill to increase South Carolina’s competitiveness on the national and world stage.

“It’s important that we send a signal to those with hate in their hearts that we do not tolerate those actions,” Newton said.

The bill has gone through several revisions since it was first introduced.

In hearings, House members initially voted to strip out protections for the LGBTQ community. House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. Chris Murphy, R-Dorchester, argued that protections for the LGBTQ community had to be removed in order to pass the hate crimes bill before the end of May, when lawmakers stop meeting for session in Columbia until the following January.

In committee, lawmakers voted to add protections based on sexual orientation and gender back into the bill after receiving backlash from the LGBTQ community.

Lawmakers, however, voted to remove a section of the bill that would have allowed prosecutors to charge criminals with hate crimes for committing crimes of stalking, harassment and property damage. The original bill said for stalking or imprisonment, the penalties could be increased to up to a $5,000 fine and three years imprisonment and, for malicious injury offenses, a fine up to $1,000 and an additional one year imprisonment.

Republicans pushed to strip out those sections of the bill after the religious community expressed concern with them, stressing again that the bill would likely not pass if those provisions were included.

Despite stripping the harassment sections out of the bill, conservative groups are still expressing concerns about the hate crimes bill.

In an email, the conservative Palmetto Family Alliance said the bill could “could erode our religious liberty,” by forcing the state government to recognize classifications for sexual orientation and gender identity in state law.

This is a developing story. It will be updated.