Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Killion sponsors hate crime legislation
EAST GOSHEN » The late-night June 2017 “sucker punch” attack by Barry Robert Baker Jr. on a man with cerebral palsy, outside a West Chester convenience store, led state Sen. Tom Killion, R-9th of Middletown, to sponsor hate crime legislation.
The victim was mocked prior to the assault and targeted solely for his disability. Baker was sentenced to three to six years in state prison, for the assault and other previously committed crimes.
At Thursday’s panel discussion, held both at the East Goshen Township Building and virtually, talk centered on adding sex, gender identity and sexual orientation to the Commonwealth’s hate crime statues, along with Killion’s proposed bill that would add intellectual or physical disabilities to the list that prosecutors can consider when contemplating hate crime charges.
Kendall Stephens, survivor of transphobic violence, vividly told the panel about the violence she encountered.
At age 11, school mates said they wanted to “beat the gay out of me,” along with, later on, by who she said was an abusive mother.
“I was reduced to living in the silence of shame,” she said. “They were unsuccessful in beating (the gay) out of me.”
Once homeless, the former Community College of Philadelphia student and junior at Temple University, is studying Public Health, Social Work and minoring in Communications and Activism. She strongly favors Killion’s Senate Bill 444.
“We are not born bigots, we are taught,” she said. “Whatever we are taught, we can change.
“What’s happening to us is not happening in a vacuum. We are your neighbors. We are here, we are people too.”
Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said that the number of hate crimes seems to be increasing.
“You cannot hurt people because they are different from you,” he said, “or hate that person simply because they are different.”
Self-advocate Karen Hayes spoke to the legislators and officials.
“It’s sad and scary that someone wants to hurt someone just because they have a disability,” Hayes said.
Brett Burman, citizen advocate on LGBTQ issues, said that coming out as gay should be less difficult.
“We will always be minorities,” he said.
Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan said that sending “the message that we advocate on behalf of these people is so important.” Ryan said that Killion’s bill would classify a crime one step higher.
“The impact is far greater than the impact on the individual, “Ryan said. “The pain felt by the LGBT community is our pain too.”
A 2002 law garnered bipartisan support but was tossed due to a technicality. Lawmakers on the panel stressed that SB 444 would likely gain bipartisan support, if given a chance.
Senator and Majority Policy Committee Chairman, David Argall, R-29th, of Berks and Schuylkill counties stressed the need for legislators to “send the clear signal” that the bill can become law.
Matt Holliday is board president of Arc of Chester County and said that in our hearts wemust “safeguard” the most vulnerable.
Shira Goodman, Philadelphia Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League, said hate crime violence has increased 442 percent.
“You cannot fight one form of hatred without fighting all forms,” she said.
State Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-46th, of Washington County, advocated against employment discrimination.
“Leaving talented individuals on the sideline … is a sure way to fail,” she said.
Jason Landau Goodman, executive director of Pennsylvania Youth Congress, said that hate is a fuel.
“Hate crime is fueled by hate,” he said. “As long as there is hate, there will always be hate crimes.”