Georgia is one of four states in the US that does not have hate crime laws or require data collection on hate crimes.
Georgia lawmakers are calling for amendments to the state code to include hate crimes after the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, who was killed while jogging through a neighborhood.
Jasmine Arbery, Ahmaud’s sister, told CNN she thought the shooting was a hate crime. Arbery was black and the men involved in the shooting incident are white.
This isn’t the first time members of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus (GLBC) have called for a hate crime bill. Back in November, a 16-year-old girl in Gainesville allegedly plotted to attack a historically black church faced a charge of criminal attempt to commit murder, but she didn’t face any hate crime charges.
Georgia black caucus will push for hate crime law after teen allegedly planned to attack black churchgoers
Georgia is one of four states — including Arkansas, South Carolina and Wyoming — that don’t have hate crime laws or require data collection on such crimes, according to the US Justice Department website. However, even if a state doesn’t have hate crime laws, the Justice Department says such crimes can still be reported to the FBI.
„We do need a safe net in Georgia that shows we do not condone or support hate crimes,“ said state Rep.
