The tragic death of Ahmaud Arbery by shooting in Brunswick, Georgia, in February has spurred a new conversation about the need for a “hate crime” law in Georgia. Arbery was shot by a white man, along with his father (a former law enforcement officer) in broad daylight in a Brunswick, Georgia neighborhood. The two men claim that they were attempting to make a “citizen’s arrest.” Many believe, as I do, that the men were acting out of racial bias and prejudice. Ahmaud Arbery was a young black man who had not committed any crime. Many across the state and nation believe that the men suspected Arbery of committing a crime simply because he was a black man. If Arbery had been a white man out for a daily jog, he would not have been stopped and shot. His only crime was being black.

The term “hate” can be misleading. As used in the legal sense, the word “hate” does not mean rage, anger or general dislike, but rather it means bias prejudice against people or groups with specific characteristics that are defined by law. A hate crime has been defined, in state and federal legislation, as a crime committed on the basis of the victim’s perceived or actual race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identification or disability. The federal government, the District of Columbia and 46 other jurisdictions have enacted such laws. Currently Georgia, Arkansas, South Carolina and Wyoming do not have laws which either criminalize or provide for enhanced punishment individuals who commit crimes of violence based upon this definition.

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