REGINALD T. JACKSON: Fighting hate is not a partisan issue

I was assigned as the Bishop of the Sixth Episcopal District, Georgia in July 2016. It was not long after that I learned that Georgia did not have a hate crimes law. Georgia is one of only four states in the nation not to have a hate crimes law on the books. This greatly troubled me. Especially, since it was only a year after the shooting at Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, S.C., where nine blacks were killed by a young white male who said he wanted to start a race war.

In August 2017, I was invited to address the annual prayer breakfast of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus in Savannah. At the breakfast, I challenged the caucus to introduce hate crimes legislation and committed to organize faith leaders across the state of Georgia to support them. To their credit, the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus introduced hate crimes legislation in the January 2018 legislative session. The hate crimes bill passed the lower house of the General Assembly, the House of Representatives. But the bill was blocked in the State Senate.

Republicans sought to strike a compromise that if the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus would agree to make abortion a hate crime, they would support the bill. The Legislative Black Caucus to their credit would not agree, and as a result the hate crimes bill did not pass the Senate.

In January 2019, again the Legislative Black Caucus submitted hate crimes legislation. In fact, legislation was also submitted by a Republican senator, and the Black Caucus bill and the Republican bill were merged. Again, the bill passed the House of Representatives, but again was not acted on by the Senate.

Now we come to January 2020 and yet another legislative session. And, again hate crimes legislation has been drafted and will be presented for consideration this week. This legislation has passed the House of Representatives and now only needs to be approved by the Senate and signed by Gov. Kemp. This should not be a heavy lift. This should not require much debate, this should not be controversial.

This bill is presented at a time when hate crimes and domestic terrorism are on the increase not only across the United States, but right here in Georgia. Attempted and threatened acts of hate have been reported in newspapers, on television and radio. Worshippers cannot be assured of safety in churches, temples or mosques. People are still targeted because of race, religion, ethnicity or sexual presence. Racism, anti-Semitism, and other phobias still generate acts of hate by some right here in Georgia, and it is irresponsible and poor leadership that refuses to pass legislation to address this problem. Fighting hate should not be a partisan issue.

I stood in this same rotunda in 2018 and again in 2019 and said Georgia was in denial on the issue of hate crimes. That it did not want to face the reality that hate is still a problem in Georgia. I stand in this same rotunda today, one year later, to say that I was wrong. The problem this legislature has with passing hate crimes legislation is not denial. It knows that hate exists, that it’s real. The problem is that the legislature is not acting on the basis of its conscience.

If the Senate votes its conscience, and the governor acts on his conscience, this Senate will pass and Gov. Kemp will sign hate crimes legislation. And blacks, Jews, Muslims, all the citizens of Georgia will know that this state does not condone hate, or evil because of race, religion, ethnicity or sexual preference.

On “AME Day” at the State Capitol, AME’s from all over the state of Georgia — young, middle age, senior citizens, clergy and lay — have come to issue a “call to conscience” to this General Assembly and governor. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a son of Georgia, whose statue graces the grounds of this building, said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands at times of convenience and comfort, but at times of challenge and controversy, for in such times expediency asks is it politic, vanity asks is it popular, cowardice asks is it safe, but conscience asks is it right?”

We ask the state Senate is it right that when right here in Georgia, a 16-year-old girl planned to hurt or kill members at Bethel AME Church in Gainesville only because they are black, cannot be charged with a hate crime because Georgia doesn’t have a hate crimes law? Or when, last week, that three self-avowed white nationalists were arrested by the FBI for planning to carry out a hate crime, could only be charged by the federal government but not by Georgia because there is no state hate crimes law? The FBI reports that domestic terrorist groups are on the increase across the nation, including here in Georgia.

This legislative session we will make every effort to get a hate crimes law passed. Faith leaders, black and white, Jewish, Muslim and others will meet with Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, state senators and Gov. Kemp to get this bill passed and signed. We’ve heard some senators say you can’t regulate behavior. Almost every bill the legislature passes, including abortion, seeks to regulate behavior.

We understand that in government and politics, nothing changes without pressure. I have not spoken with the Legislative Black Caucus, but we challenge them to make hate crimes legislation among their leading priorities, and not to give away their votes without getting a hate crimes law in return. Therefore, we urge the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus to commit not to support casino legislation until the Senate agrees to pass hate crime legislation.

Georgia must and needs to join the other 46 states in the nation that have taken a stand against hate, and say to anyone who seeks to commit hateful acts that there is a consequence. Let the nation know that hate will not be tolerated in Georgia.

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