Last week, a proposed hate crimes bill in the Indiana legislature (HB 1459) died under pressure from conservative Christians who opposed giving special protection on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The bill would have permitted victims of a criminal offense to bring a civil action to recover damages if the person who committed the offense knowingly or intentionally selected the victim because of the victim's color, creed, disability, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex. Also, targeting individuals on these bases would have been an aggravating circumstance in sentencing for a crime. Indiana is only one of five states without a hate crimes law.
The American Family Association of Indiana pushed a grassroots campaign that resulted in many e-mails to legislators from those opposed to the law. Then Rep. Jackie Walorski proposed an amendment that would have made the hate crimes law apply to a fetus. Democrats who control the House of Representatives decided to shelve the legislation in order to avoid a divisive debate on abortion. These developments were reported by WDC Media and by 365Gay.com.
