Fwd: *QP*: MO Senate passes hate crimes bill
Michael McPhail
April 21, 1999
CAPITOL BRIEFS : Senate weighs bill targeting hate crimes
Misdemeanor crimes based on gender, sexual orientation or
disability
could receive tougher penalties under a bill that received final
approval Tuesday from the Missouri Senate.
Under the plan, judges and juries would have the option of adding
additional penalties to crimes like trespassing or harassment if
the
crimes are motivated by race, color, religion, sex, sexual
orientation
or disability of the victim. A judge or jury could make the
penalties
jump to one of two types of felonies.
During debate Tuesday, the sponsor, state Sen. William Lacy Clay
Jr.,
D-St. Louis, read a magazine account of the dragging death of a
black
man, James Byrd Jr. in Jasper, Texas, last June.
"Let's not stand here and act like these crimes don't occur,"
said
Clay. "We need to send a message."
Sen. Steve Ehlmann, R-St. Charles, questioned the need for the
proposed law. While the crimes in question are reprehensible,
Ehlmann
said, the punishment should be the same no matter who is the
victim.
Historically, different laws applied to noblemen and commoners.
"We're moving backward," he said. "Why can't we simply treat an
assault as an assault?"
The bill is SB 328.
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