SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A proposal to strengthen Utah’s hate-crimes law cleared another hurdle Friday as the once-stalled measure continued its forward progress.
A Utah House committee approved the legislation that would increase sentences for people convicted of targeting someone because of their sexual orientation, race, religion or other factors.
Supporters have said it would protect civil rights and send an important message that violence targeting a particular group of people won’t be tolerated, while opponents worry the measure goes too far in singling out certain groups for protections and stiffer penalties wouldn’t solve the problem.
Utah’s current hate-crime law doesn’t protect specific groups, and prosecutors have said it’s essentially unusable.
The measure has already passed the Senate, and it now goes to the House floor.
The vote came despite friction between members of the committee and Republican sponsor Sen. Daniel Thatcher, the Deseret News reported .
Thatcher said if they couldn’t see the difference between graffiti that damages property and graffiti that threatens a community, they “probably shouldn’t be in charge of criminal justice policy.”
Republican Rep. Paul Ray said the comment was insulting and out of order, and Thatcher apologized, calling the remark flippant. Ray later voted in favor of the bill, which passed on an 8-2 vote.
The progress comes after the bill stalled in 2016. Supporters said its prospects were hurt when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said there should be no upset to the balance between religious and LGBT rights achieved with an anti-discrimination bill the year before.
Church officials clarified this year that they do not oppose the legislation.
A groundswell of support for the idea picked up speed after the November 2018 beating of a Latino man in Salt Lake City who authorities have said was targeted by an attacker who said he wanted to “kill Mexicans.”
In a separate incident two weeks ago, a video showing a man in Salt Lake City punching a stranger allegedly because he was gay gained widespread attention online.
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