Arkansas state Rep. Tippi McCullough (D-Little Rock) | hrc.org
Arkansas state Rep. Tippi McCullough (D-Little Rock) | hrc.org
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed Senate Bill 622 (SB 622) into law and it is causing much controversy as it referred to as "an alternative to a hate crimes bill."
Senate Bill 622 is a class protection bill as an alternative to previously signed Senate Bill 3, which protects against victim's targeted based on various characteristics and orientations. Arkansas state Rep. Tippi McCullough (D-Little Rock) said the new bill may seem confusing, but really it is an attempt to further understand targeted groups.
"If you're not a minority, I think it'll be hard or difficult to understand what this particular bill looks like and feels like. It feels like just an attempt to check a box and not really a true attempt to make sure that we realize these vulnerable groups that are targeted," McCullough said in an interview.
According to the bill's language, SB 622 requires that a criminal serves at least 80% of their sentence if it is proven that the crime they committed toward a victim was based on the victim's "mental, physical, biological, cultural, political, or religious beliefs or characteristics.”
"Senate Bill 622 is not a real hate crimes bill. It is a substitute for what a real hate crimes bill could do," Kymara Seals with Arkansas Public Policy Panel and Citizens First Congress said, as reported by CBS 5 News.
Critics of SB 622 say this measure is not enough to protect those who have been historically discriminated against in Arkansas.
Arkansas is one of only three states nationally that does not have a "true" hate crime bill.
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