Hate crimes bill introduced in Georgia House

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Includes protections for sexual orientation and gender identity

By MATT SCHAFER
FEB. 6, 2009

State Rep. Pedro ‘Pete’ Marin (D-Duluth) recently introduced a hate crimes bill in the Georgia House that includes protections for sexual orientation and gender identity. (Photo by Matt Schafer)

A gay and transgender inclusive hate crime bill has begun to move forward in the Georgia House while a bill requiring HIV testing of prisoners was introduced in the Senate. Rep. Pedro “Pete” Marin (D-Duluth) introduced the hate crimes measure, H.B. 111, which would offer sentence enhancement for hate crimes motivated by the victim’s “race, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or national origin.”

“I’ve seen the bill in the Senate dropped a couple of times,” Marin said. “My goal is to make it formal legislation, but a lot of things that we do is to send a message. I think with hate crimes we have to make sure when we punish someone that they are not doing a crime pertaining to someone’s race, gender and so on.”

Although the bill has not received its first committee hearing, Marin said he is working with Georgia Equality to broaden the legislation, including adding disability as a protected status.

“I have a good slate of co-sponsors and I’m working right now with new language because we want to make sure that we have interest groups joining and forming our group,” he said. “I already have talked with folks from Georgia Equality and they’re going to be in touch with Log Cabin Republicans, but then I also have support from the Latino community, the Asian community, the African-American community, and now with the disabilities [protection] we’re bringing another component to it.”

Georgia has never had effective hate crimes legislation. Marin’s legislation would officially amend Georgia's previous hate crimes law, which was struck down by the state Supreme Court in 2004 on the grounds that its definition of hate crimes as those motivated by "bias or prejudice" was unconstitutionally vague. Lawmakers had enacted the bill without naming specific categories out of concern that it would not pass if "sexual orientation" was included.

Under Marin's proposal, if a person is convicted of crime motivated by hate toward a protected category, the sentence can be enhanced up to 50 percent for a misdemeanor or five years for a felony, but no more than the maximum penalty for the underlying crime. State Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta) introduced Georgia’s first hate crimes law, and has continued to introduce hate crimes legislation since it was struck down.

He said he plans to do so again this year.

“This is the bill that has passed out of the Senate at one time or the other, so I'm always hopeful, so I think we'll see how it goes,” Fort said.

The Anti-Defamation League, with Fort’s support, led an unsuccessful charge to pass a similar bill in the Senate last year.

“I am an eternal optimist, I believe in the good will of everyone under the Gold Dome,” said Bill Nigut, ADL southeast regional director.

“That said, it will be very difficult to move the bill forward.We have a lot of education to do, but that doesn’t mean we should give up.” Marin, too, acknowledges the difficulty in moving the bill forward.

“It’s sad to say but sometimes we wish we have that kind of legislation in place, but mainly what we’re doing is trying to send a message,” Marin said. “I don’t know if this year it will pass. I don’t know if next year it will pass, but we are seeing a lot of crimes being committed across the country.”

US transgender official wins legal battle

Americas

The Associated Press

Published: October 6, 2008

ATLANTA: The state of Georgia's top court ruled in favor of a transgender politician who was slapped with a lawsuit by two political opponents who claimed she misled voters by running as a woman.

The Georgia Supreme Court's unanimous ruling on Monday found that the two political opponents who filed the lawsuit failed to produce evidence of fraud, misconduct or illegal action after claiming that Michelle Bruce bamboozled voters by identifying herself as female.

"This is a great victory for me and anyone who believes in equality," Bruce said in a statement. "It gives me hope that the Georgia Supreme Court did what was right and did not buy into hate-based politics."

Bruce, who was believed to be the state's first transgender politician, landed one of four council seats in Riverdale, Georgia, in 2003. Running unopposed, she pledged to attract more jobs and residents to the struggling town 12 miles (19 kilometers) south of Atlanta.

Last year, however, three people signed up to run against her, and she failed to capture enough votes to avoid a runoff against second-place finisher Wayne Hall.

The third-place finisher, Georgia Fuller, and a candidate in another race, Stan Harris, filed a lawsuit after the primary that identified Bruce as "Michael" and sought a new election.

It's unclear whether most voters knew of Bruce's transgender status before the lawsuit was filed. She has declined to say whether she has had surgery but said she has always identified herself as transgender.

"I'm Michelle," she said when the suit was filed. "I'm the same Michelle they elected four years ago."

Hall won the runoff, and Bruce blamed the lawsuit for her defeat.

Meanwhile, the complaint made its way through Georgia's legal system. In its decision Monday, the court ruled for Bruce and concluded that "none of these alleged irregularities is specific enough to cast doubts" on the election.

Gay rights groups said the lawsuit appears to be a first in the country.

"I am not aware of any other case involving the issue of whether a transgender candidate is defrauding the citizens," said Cole Thaler, an attorney with Lambda Legal, a gay rights group.

Bruce's attorneys said they felt vindicated by the ruling.

Michael King, the attorney for the plaintiffs, said he was disappointed and surprised by the decision.

"We think there were significant irregularities and misconduct to reverse the election," he said.

Bruce, meanwhile, said she is now taking courses at an online law school and hopes to again serve the public as an elected official.

"I still have a dream to serve my community," she said. "And I'm not giving up."

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On the Net:

Georgia Supreme Court: http://www.gasupreme.us