Nine Years On, South Carolina's Hate Crime Bill Still Awaits Approval

For the ninth year in a row, a lawmaker in Charleston, South Carolina, has submitted a hate crime bill to the statehouse. This bill aims to make South Carolina the 49th state to pass such a law. The bill is named after Senator Clementa C. Pinckney, who was killed in the Mother Emanuel Church shooting in 2015. Since then, local cities have passed their own hate crime ordinances, showing support for the statewide bill. Despite this, the bill hasn't been passed yet.The bill adds extra penalties for crimes motivated by hate, including up to $10, 000 in fines and five years in prison. Many activist groups and businesses support the bill, but it faces opposition from a few state senators. The lawmaker behind the bill, Rep. Wendell Gilliard, believes that if the bill passes the House and reaches the Senate, it will be approved. He hopes that the upcoming legislative session in January 2025 will be the time for change. Rep. Gilliard emphasizes that the bill has the support of many people and statistics on its side. He believes that it's a matter of convincing the holdouts in the Senate to prioritize the bill. He points to the recent antisemitism definition legislation as an example of something that most leaders supported.