On January 2, 2014, a cross was burned outside an African Amercan's Home in Johnson County, Indiana. At that time, the County Prosecutor expressed frustration noting Indiana lacked a hate crime law. This "does tie our hands...we are stuck with criminal mischief and misdemeanor intimidation". It seem Indiana is one of only 4 states without a hate-crimes law...(unless this was remedied in last year-does anyone know?)
For a copy of the Letter the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) sent to the Indy Star on this issue, see below the fold.
I discovered this when I was researching if the ADL had spoken out on the "Religious Freedom" law passed in Indiana...where it seems corporations and individuals can now legally discriminate against individuals based on a corporations(?) or individual's religious beliefs.
As of this posting, the ADL has not, but this issue is fast evolving.
The ADL is THE group that watch dogs against Jewish antisemiticism -- but other descrimination has also been their perview. Given that anti-Semitism has traditionally been a religious-based belief fostered by Christianity, (Jews were Christ killers kids of my generation were told in Catholic School and elsewhere, and Martin Luther made his views on Jews abundantly clear). So the Indiana law would seem to show up on their radar. But they haven not spoke out as of this posting. Their is even a department at the University of Indiana that studies antisemiticism
Christian Antisemiticism -- in the US at least -- is largely a thing of the past: most-all Christian religious groups have renounce this tradition in the last 30 years (One does note it took most them generation after Hitler's death to reform their official doctrine).
However the lesson from history is clear as to where religious-belief's can take you.
And it is interesting Indiana does not have a Hate Crime law: Indiana had a quite active KKK movement in the early 20th century.
Indiana Needs a Hate Crime Law
Letter send from ADL to the Indy Star Newspaper 3/7/2014
To the Editor:
Shortly after 3 a.m. on Jan. 2, two individuals were arrested for allegedly burning a three-foot-high cross outside an African-American family’s home in Johnson County. Brad Cooper, Johnson County prosecutor, reportedly expressed his frustration that Indiana’s lack of a hate crime law “does tie our hands as prosecutors ... We’re stuck with criminal mischief or misdemeanor intimidation. I don’t think that does justice.” Hate crimes cause unique harm and merit a unique response and tools to address them.
Indiana is an outlier. Forty-five states and the District of Columbia have enacted hate crime penalty-enhancement laws, many based on a model statute drafted by the Anti-Defamation League in 1981.
All Americans have a stake in effective responses to violent bigotry. These crimes demand a priority response because of the extraordinary harm they cause to the victim and the victim’s community. Hate crimes occur when a perpetrator targets a victim for crime because of the target’s actual or perceived race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. In the vast majority of these crimes, but for the victim’s personal characteristic, no crime would have been committed at all. These crimes have a very deep, damaging impact on the victim. When a person is targeted for a crime because of his or her race, religion, or other personal characteristic, it does not just injure that person. It harms the entire community of people who share that characteristic, and sends the message that they are not welcome, that they are not safe.
Hate crimes are designed to intimidate the victim and members of the victim’s community, leaving them feeling terrorized, isolated, vulnerable and unprotected by the law. Failure to address this unique type of crime could cause an isolated incident to explode into widespread community tension. These crimes can damage the fabric of our society and fragment communities.
Hate crime laws demonstrate an important commitment to confront and deter criminal activity motivated by prejudice. Hate violence has an especially devastating impact on the community. When hate crimes do occur, we must send an unmistakable message that our society takes them very seriously.
The time is now to make Indiana the 46th state to give our law enforcement partners the tools they need to respond effectively to hate crimes.
Sincerely,
Lonnie Nasatir
Chicago/Upper Midwest Regional Director