A proposed ordinance set to go before the Little Rock Board of Directors on Tuesday would set higher penalties for misdemeanor crimes that target individuals based on their race, religion, national orientation, disability or sexual orientation.
Ward 3 City Director Kathy Webb said she worked with the Anti-Defamation League to draft the ordinance. The organization has worked with municipalities in multiple states to develop local laws that increase penalties for offenses against marginalized groups.
David Barkey, senior and southeastern area counsel for the Anti-Defamation League, said in an interview Thursday that the group has made an effort to work with municipalities in the small number of states that do not have hate crime legislation at the state level.
Arkansas is one of three or four states without sentence enhancements for hate crimes, depending on the organization making the classification. The U.S. Department of Justice considers Arkansas, South Carolina and Wyoming the only three states without hate crime laws. The Anti-Defamation League holds the position that a law in Indiana is too broad to be considered hate crime legislation, Barkey said.
Barkey said local ordinances can be a steppingstone to statewide hate crime legislation and offer victims of targeted crimes relief in the meantime.
Webb said she was prepared to introduce the ordinance in February or March, but put it on hold when the coronavirus pandemic hit.
[DOCUMENT: Draft of Little Rock hate-crime ordinance » arkansasonline.com/75hate]
"We pushed it back, but in light of the continued rise in hate crimes, both racially motivated as well as anti-Semitic, we felt like it would be a good time to introduce it," she said.
Webb applauded Gov. Asa Hutchinson for voicing support for a hate crime law, though she said she did not believe a state statute negated Little Rock's need to do the same.
"I think they're both needed, and I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't see other cities either bringing up their own ordinances or presenting resolutions urging the state to act," she said. "I think anything that we can do that builds momentum for a state law is a good thing, but I think it would be."
The model for the ordinance is not one size fits all, Barkey said, and the Anti-Defamation League worked with Little Rock city officials to make sure the proposal is within the bounds of state law.
Under state law, a local hate crime ordinance can deal only with misdemeanors, so enhanced penalties could apply to crimes ranging from graffiti to assault. Hate crimes legislation is also being considered at the state level in Arkansas. Last month, a draft bill to be considered in the regular legislative session beginning in January was released.
The bill is broader than the proposed local ordinance and would penalize crimes committed against the homeless and those in the military.
Hate crimes on the basis of race and sexual identity can be prosecuted federally under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009.
That law also requires the FBI to track incidents of hate crimes.
The Little Rock proposal would require the city's Police Department to report instances of hate crimes to the FBI.