In wake of Atlanta shootings, NC lawmakers again pursue hate crime bill

"Our community is shook from what happened in Georgia," Chavi Koneru, executive director of North Carolina Asian Americans Together, said during a news conference at the Legislative Building. "This is another tragedy on top of the anti-Asian hate that has been mounting over the last year. Even though it's been in the news for the past few months, anti-Asian discrimination is not new."

"If history has taught us anything, it's that the racist, xenophobic rhetoric fueling recent anti-Asian violence will not vanish once this pandemic ends," he said.

A hate crimes bill has been filed in the General Assembly in each of the last two legislative sessions, and neither one even got a committee hearing.

Still, Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, D-Wake, said one is needed.

"If we wish to pursue a perfect union in this state, then we must confront and take on the often dark and ugly side of our democracy," said Chaudhuri, who has sponsored each of the last two bills and is behind this one as well.

"Responding to hate crimes must be a priority because they impact all of us," agreed Sen. Mujtaba Mohammed, D-Mecklenburg. "Hate crimes not only have an impact on one victim, but they also terrorize and isolate a victim’s whole community, and that weakens public safety for all of us."

The bill would increase the punishment for any crime if it's determined a person was targeted because of his or her "race, ethnicity, color, religion, nationality, country of origin, gender, gender identity, gender expression, disability, or sexual orientation." It also would create a statewide database of such crimes – reporting hate crimes by law enforcement agencies is currently voluntary, but it would become mandatory – and provide more training for law enforcement officers and district attorneys to respond to and prosecute cases.