South Carolina is one of only four states in the US that has no hate crime statutes,even after the murder of nine people at Emanuel AME in the summer of 2015. Since then, hate crimes have continued to become a frequent reality around our country.

Any person who aims to assault, intimidate, or threaten a person because of their race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin, perceived sexual orientation, perceived gender identity/ expression, or class status should be considered guilty of a felony.