Hackney: Indiana hate crimes legislation must include gender identity

It's Black History Month, and the African American Coalition of Indianapolis is fighting for a hate crimes bill that would list specific protected characteristics, including gender identity, for those who are targeted by violence or vandalism.

Let that sink in for a minute.

A group of more than 15 independent African-American advocacy, civic and social organizations — including the Indiana Black Expo, the Indy Black Chamber of Commerce, the Indianapolis Urban League and the Indianapolis NAACP — have called upon the General Assembly to pass legislation that is inclusive and defines gender identity as an immutable individual trait.

This, even at a time when African Americans experience more hate crimes than any other group in the country, according to 2017 FBI statistics, the most recent year available.

Talk about being righteous. 

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Yes, they want a hate crimes bill — the coalition held a news conference Friday to call for such. But they also want a bill that will better protect all Hoosiers from crimes motivated by bias. 

In November, the FBI released hate crime statistics for 2017. In Indiana, 21 police agencies reported 55 hate crimes, including 32 that were race- and ethnicity-based. Incidents occurred in urban, suburban and rural Indiana, from Bloomington to Whitestown.

Yet lawmakers delayed for weeks any hearing on hate crimes bills at the Statehouse. After much hand-wringing, one measure will get its first hearing of the 2019 session on Monday. Members of the Senate Public Policy committee will hear the bill, which must be voted out of committee by Thursday if it is to have life.

The bill would allow judges to consider a stricter sentence for someone who harms or intimidates a person or group based on characteristics such as race, ethnicity, religion sexual orientation, national origin, disability or gender identity.

And that appears to be the sticking point. House and Senate leaders have said support for any bias-crimes bill could be stifled if gender identity is listed as a specific protected characteristic.

What a discriminatory, bigoted and callous message they're sending to Indiana's LGBTQ residents: Yeah, sorry, we're just not that into you.

We must demand better of our elected officials.

Still, it seems Indiana's Republican leaders can't get out of their own way. They profess to be congenial — let's hear it for that so-called Hoosier hospitality — yet there's been a concerted effort to avoid offering judicial protection for those victims of crimes motivated by prejudice.

"We’re Hoosiers; we’re welcoming people," Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, told journalists after Friday's news conference. "If you want somebody to live in this state they should be able to live free without having to be worried about someone attacking them or their property.

"We know that we have an issue in the state of Indiana with people making a decision to attack someone or their property based on what they believe is different than who they are," he said. "And I think we need to address that issue before it gets out of hand.”

Added Rep. Greg Porter, another Indianapolis Democrat: "We need to do it this year. I don’t think we can wait any longer — because if we do we’ll never get back to this point."

How embarrassing that we remain only one of five states that have not enacted a hate crimes law. How embarrassing that Indiana continues to send a message to the world that we don't care about our minority citizens, not about gay people, or Muslim people, or African American people, or Jewish people or Asian American people or people with disabilities.

There are no two sides to argue here. There should be nothing up for debate. For once, this is a very black and white issue. It's beyond time for legislators to take a stand against hate-filled criminal acts that threaten some of Indiana's most vulnerable residents.

There is only one right answer: The passage of a clear and inclusive hate crimes law.  

Email IndyStar columnist Suzette Hackney at suzette.hackney@indystar.com. Friend her on Facebook at Suzette Hackney and follow her on Twitter: @suzyscribe.