Indiana Hate Crime Bill is a Step in the Right Direction

It really doesn't surprise me that Indiana is 1 of only 5 states in America without laws against hate crimes. However, the Indiana House took the first step toward changing this with Indiana House Bill 1459. This bill will allow judges to take into consideration whether hate was a motivating factor in a crime when determining a perpetrators sentence. The bill also allows victims of hate crimes to file civil suits against their perpetrators.

So what exactly is a hate crime? According to House Bill 1459, a hate crime is defined as "crimes in which an offender chooses a victim based on color, creed, disability, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or sex".

While some believe that this bill sends an important message that hate motivated crimes will not be tolerated, others (including Rep. Eric Koch the only Indiana Representative who voted against the bill) believe that this bill will do nothing to deter hate motivated crimes. Still others believe that the bill is unfair in that it punished criminals more harshly for their thoughts. They believe that criminals should only be punished for the crimes they committed and not the thoughts they were thinking while they were committing the crime.