Biz groups to Ga.: Pass hate-crimes law ASAP

Slaying of Ahmaud Arbery reignites calls for measure by law enforcers, politicians.

Two of Georgia’s most prominent business groups united Wednesday to press state lawmakers to adopt a hate-crimes law when the legislative session resumes next month.

The heads of the Metro Atlanta Chamber and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce issued a rare joint statement calling for the “swift passage of hate crimes legislation that aligns our state’s law with our values” when legislators return after a monthslong pandemic delay.

“The passage of hate crimes legislation in 2019 by a bipartisan vote of the Georgia House of Representatives was an important step forward for our state,” Hala Moddelmog of the Metro Atlanta Chamber and Chris Clark of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce said in the statement.

They added, “Recent support from statewide leaders further demonstrates that momentum is growing for Georgia to join the 45 other states that already have these laws on the books.”

The groups join a bipartisan collection of supporters of hate-crimes legislation that includes law enforcement officials, Democratic leaders and several of the state’s most powerful Republicans who say the slaying of Ahmaud Arbery in coastal Georgia has reignited their calls for such a measure.

House Speaker David Ralston has said he would “challenge and implore” Senate lawmakers to pass a hatecrimes bill already adopted by his chamber, House Bill 426, “with no delay and no amendments” when the session resumes in June.

Some Democrats who have long pressed for the measure have recently called for the bill to be renamed in memory of Arbery, a 25-year-old black man who was shot and killed in February on the outskirts of Brunswick. Three white men have been charged with his murder.

Georgia is one of four or five states in the nation without such a measure — depending on the metric — after the state Supreme Court in 2004 declared a previous law unconstitutionally vague.

The Georgia House last year passed HB 426 by a 96-64 vote with the support of several influential suburban Republicans. But it stalled in the state Senate, held up by critics who say they’re skeptical about whether additional penalties will deter crimes.

While Gov. Brian Kemp has indicated he’s receptive to the legislation, Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who presides over the state Senate, has not yet taken a stance. Some other powerful Senate leaders have raised objections, including Jesse Stone, the chair of the Senate Judiciary

Committee.

Stone, who blocked a vote on the measure last year, said many members oppose the bill because it could limit the discretion of trial judges to impose sentences and also because of a “philosophical concern” about requiring different punishments for similar crimes.

“The bill doesn’t do enough in some areas, and it goes too far in others,” Stone said. “We’ve got our plate full with bills that we do need to move on, so if a consensus comes together, it’s possible we can move on this. But if it doesn’t, it could lag behind.”