INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A push for Indiana to adopt a law targeting hate crimes has failed again in the state Legislature.
The bill was set for consideration Tuesday morning in a state Senate committee, but the chairman says he decided to not take a vote because a consensus couldn’t be reached over its wording.
Bills targeting hate crimes have failed in recent years and Indiana is one of just five states without laws against crimes motivated by factors such as race, gender, religion and sexual orientation.
Republican legislative leaders had voiced support for the measure, but social conservatives against it argued hate crime laws create special protected classes that treat victims of similar crimes differently. Supporters maintained the lack of such a law makes Indiana look backward.
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A crime is a crime. The reason a crime is committed does not change the fact that a crime was committed. Again, a crime is a crime no matter why it was committed. Why waste our tax money writing a bunch of laws that say that! Who determines a “hate” crime was committed? Judges? Lawyers? This label will be put on every crime. If a guy robs a gas station it will become a hate crime because a minority owned it…This will just cause more corruption in our court system and allow it to be used for political purposes.