This year’s hate crimes bill is on life support as its sponsor is struggling to line up support.
Sen. Daniel Thatcher, R-West Valley City, says he’s not giving up but acknowledges that, right now, he doesn’t have the votes.
“I’m not going to bring the bill to a committee unless I have the votes, and right now we’re not there,” he said.
Thatcher’s proposal takes a unique approach to hate crimes legislation, putting the focus on the perpetrator of the crime instead of the victim. SB72 would increase penalties for a crime if it could be proven that the person who committed the offense targeted the victim because of their perceived sexual orientation, race or other factors.
That’s a reversal from previous proposals, which looked at the victim rather than the intent of the criminal.
Still, that change doesn’t seem like it’s enough of a sea change to convince lawmakers to support the proposal.
Thatcher said he’s very disappointed his colleagues don’t seem to have the appetite to tackle the issue this year. That’s despite buy-in from law enforcement and other groups who support the bill.
“We have a problem with public relations,” he said. “I thought building a coalition of stakeholders was the way to go. I thought people would listen to law enforcement who say this legislation is needed.”
Thatcher estimates he needs to convince five or six of his Senate colleagues to change their mind for the bill to pass. If he can’t get the votes, he won’t move forward this year.
“The challenge is to take the politics out of this,” said Thatcher. “As long as this issue is politically charged, we’re gonna struggle.”
