hate crimes

Republicans in the South Carolina Senate don't appear to be in any rush to make their state the 49th in the county to pass a hate crimes law. Democrats in the House gathered Tuesday to talk to reporters and put pressure on senators to act on a bill that adds penalties to violent crimes based on someone's motives. The House passed the bill in 2021, although it removed hate crime penalties for property crimes such as painting a swastika on a synagogue. Senate Republicans say police and prosecutors do a good job handling hate crimes without a separate law. If the bill doesn't pass this year, supporters will have to start all over again.

Supporters of making South Carolina the next-to-last state in the U.S. to pass a hate crime law acknowledged Wednesday they are running out of time in this year's legislative session. A House-passed bill was sent to the full Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday after Democratic senators asked their Republican colleagues on a subcommittee to hold off on their objections at least until the next step.