ATLANTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 27: Georgia Governor Brian Kemp speaks to the media during a press conference at the Georgia State Capitol on April 27, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. The press conference was held to brief the media about the current situation of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in Georgia as the state reopens restaurants for dine-in customers. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) The bill, which passed the state legislature on June 25, implements harsher penalties for those who target an individual based on race, gender, religion or sexual orientation. Kemp lauded the bill as “a sign of progress.”
“Georgia is a state too great to hate,” he added.
Jewish groups applauded the bill becoming law.
“While we are thrilled at the important passage of this bill, we also must recognize that there is still so much work to be done to build a just and inclusive Georgia — especially as we look back at the horrific murders of Ahmaud Arbery and Rayshard Brooks these past few months in the state,” Anti-Defamation League (ADL) CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “This statement from our good friends at the Georgia NAACP [National Association for the Advancement of Colored People] and Ahmaud Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, is an important indication of the pain enveloped in this big win, and the tremendous work we have before us.”
He added: “We thank the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and House and Senate leadership for working across party lines to get the bill across the finish line. ADL is hopeful that this spirit of bipartisanship will continue because the hate crimes law is not an end to itself, but a critical step towards addressing systemic racial injustice in Georgia and bias and injustice in our system.”
The American Jewish Committee similarly tweeted, “We commend Georgia for passing hate crimes legislation #HB426 — a bipartisan law that will protect all Georgians! We thank @GovKemp, Lt. Governor @GeoffDuncanGA, House Speaker David Ralston, and House Representative @ChuckEfstration for their leadership.”
We commend Georgia for passing hate crimes legislation #HB426 – a bipartisan law that will protect all Georgians!
We thank @GovKemp, Lt. Governor @GeoffDuncanGA, House Speaker David Ralston, and House Representative @ChuckEfstration for their leadership. pic.twitter.com/me8IsbOwiU
— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) June 26, 2020
Before the bill was signed into law, Georgia was one of four states without a hate crimes law. Momentum for the law grew after Arbery, an African American, was killed in February after two white men confronted him while he was jogging. The two men, as well as a third individual, have been indicted on murder charges in Arbery’s death.
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