Gov. Holcomb calls for hate crime legislation following anti-Semitic graffiti at synagogue

Kaitlin Lange | IndyStar

Show Caption Hide Caption What Indiana considers a hate crime Indiana is one of five states without a hate crime law with penalties, even though local police agencies are supposed to report them. Just what is a hate crime here?

Gov. Eric Holcomb is joining calls for Indiana lawmakers to pass hate crime legislation, following the anti-Semitic graffiti discovered this weekend at a Carmel synagogue.

“No law can stop evil, but we should be clear that our state stands with the victims and their voices will not be silenced," Holcomb said. “For that reason it is my intent that we get something done this next legislative session, so Indiana can be 1 of 46 states with hate crimes legislation—and not 1 of 5 states without it."

Indiana is one of five states without a hate crime law, which proponents say could help prevent similar acts of vandalism and crime. Republican leaders have previously said they are open to the idea of hate crimes legislation, and for the past three legislative sessions Republican Sen. Susan Glick has carried legislation.

In the past, Holcomb has played a more behind the scenes role regarding hate crimes legislation.

Social conservatives in the Statehouse have continued to push back against legislation, arguing hate crime legislation would create special protected classes that treat victims of similar crimes differently, or impact free speech.

Proposed protections against LGBT hate crimes have proven to be a significant stumbling block.

What happened: Anti-Semitic graffiti found at Carmel synagogue

Swarens: How Indiana should respond to Carmel hate crime

Who kills the bill every year?

Hate crimes legislation has long been championed by Democrats. When Glick, a Republican from LaGrange started pushing for the legislation in 2016, advocates of hate crime legislation were optimistic the tide was changing in Indiana.

In 2016, a bias crimes bill was quietly and quickly passed in the Senate, only to later be quashed in the House Courts and Criminal Code by Rep. Tom Washburne, R-Inglefield, who is not seeking re-election this year.

"To me, it's very difficult to say something is more or less a crime based on somebody's motivation," Washburne said at the time. "So when you separate it and you try to create a special crime for it, what you're saying is that if somebody's on a street corner and they get beat up because somebody hates tall people and they happen to not be in any protected status, that's less of a crime than if they beat you up because of your national origin."

Raw video: Anti-Semitic vandalism found at Carmel synagogue Congregation Shaarey Tefilla on West 116th Street in Carmel was targeted by vandals who spray painted a Nazi flag and other symbols on the property.

In 2017, the bill got held up in the Senate as lawmakers struggled to come to an agreement on the language.

Sen. Mike Delph, R-Carmel, proposed an amendment on the Senate floor that would have broadened who receives protections under the hate crime law, which Glick said would have essentially made the new law ineffective and difficult for judges to use.

Glick declined to open the bill to amendments on the floor. The measure effectively died the same day the Jewish Community Center of Indianapolis received bomb threats.

State Sen. Greg Taylor and Senate candidate JD Ford, both Democrats, are now calling on Delph to get behind hate crime legislation since this weekend's vandalism occurred in his district. On Sunday, Delph said he was "shocked and saddened" by the vandalism and condemned the behavior.

Delph could not immediately be reached for comment.

In 2018, Senate members again couldn't come to an agreement on a hate crime law despite a renewed push for more protection against bias crimes following the deadly white nationalist rally last summer in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Holcomb too may have played a small role in unintentionally thwarting the bill's passage. Senate members considered removing protections based on gender identity, but Holcomb privately warned GOP leaders to leave that language in the bill, or don't pass anything at all.

He feared passing such a bill would create similar push back as that over the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in 2015.

"No one wanted a RFRA-type event," Senate leader David Long said.

The legislation was never called for amendments or a vote on the Senate floor. Instead, Long had a press conference explaining there was discord within his caucus regarding the bill.

By killing the bill in a private Senate Republican caucus meeting, lawmakers avoided a controversial public vote on hate crime legislation.

Indiana Democratic Party Chairman John Zody criticized Holcomb on Twitter Tuesday for not pushing for hate crime legislation sooner.

"This is a late-to-the-game reaction after @GovHolcomb sat on his hands last session," Zody tweeted. "The administration should not be applauded for finally trying to do something it should have done already.'

What would hate crime legislation do?

Indiana law enforcement reported 78 cases of hate crimes in 2017, according to an annual state report. That number may be much higher, however, because many law enforcement agencies don't submit hate crime data.

Already judges in Indiana can use their own discretion to consider other factors when determining a sentence apart from the crime itself, such as if the act was a hate crime.

However, proponents of hate crime legislation say explicitly listing a hate crime as an aggravating circumstance would further discourage hate crimes based on race, gender or sexual identity and encourage judges to consider such factors.

This weekend, leaders of the Congregation Shaarey Tefilla in Carmel found graffiti, comprised of a pair of Nazi flags and iron crosses, spray painted on a brick shed on their property.

So far there is no information on the suspects. If identified, the suspects would likely be charged with vandalism. If Indiana had a hate crime law been in place, the penalty for the perpetrators could be more severe.

Kentucky law for example, specifically allows judges to deny probation or parole if they determine a hate crime was a primary factor in the crime.

Only four other states — Arkansas, Georgia, South Carolina and Wyoming — don't have hate crime laws.

"This is why I have fought for years to put a hate crimes law on the books in Indiana," Rep. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, tweeted Monday morning. "IN is 1 of only 5 states that doesn't have this type of legislation. How much longer are we going to tolerate these senseless acts of terror?"

According to the Old National Bank/Ball State University 2017 Hoosier Survey, 65 percent of Hoosiers surveyed favor passing a hate crime law.

House Speaker Brian Bosma continued to question the the impact hate crime legislation could have in Indiana, following the synagogue vandalism, but said lawmakers were studying the issue in an interim study committee.

"Indiana judges already have the ability to enhance sentences based on a criminal’s motivation when presented with evidence of bias, but perhaps more needs to be done to clarify and highlight this existing provision," Bosma said.

Call IndyStar reporter Kaitlin Lange at (317) 432-9270. Follow her on Twitter: @kaitlin_lange.