Arkansas Senate OKs alternate, scaled-back hate crimes bill
by Andrew Demillo, The Associated Press
Posted Apr 7, 2021 7:55 pm EDT
Last Updated Apr 7, 2021 at 7:58 pm EDT
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. The Arkansas Senate on Wednesday approved a stripped-down hate crimes bill derided by longtime supporters of such legislation who claim the measure is too vague and would provide “insufficient” medicine for a state that’s one of only three nationwide without such a law.
The Senate voted 22-7 in favour of the alternate measure, which its supporters have called a “class protection” bill. The bill, which now heads to the House, requires offenders to serve at least 80% of their sentence if they committed a serious violent felony against someone because of their “mental, physical, biological, cultural, political, or religious beliefs or characteristics.”
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