INDIANAPOLIS — Gov. Eric Holcomb isn’t using the V-word yet.
Holcomb, in an exchange with reporters at the Indiana Statehouse, said it’s too early to discuss vetoing any potential hate crimes legislation that doesn’t have an enumerated list of characteristics.
He has repeatedly called for a hate crimes law with the list, but the version of the bill that passed the Indiana Senate last week doesn’t have it.
Instead, that version just includes the words “including bias” when saying that judges can give out aggravated sentences to people who commit crimes motivated by bias.
Those in favor of the list, like Holcomb, say the list is helpful to judges because it specifically spells out exactly what kind of bias would count for an aggravated sentence. They say not having a list would be too vague.
“I want to get away from the vagueness,” Holcomb said. “And I have a lot of respect for the legislators upstairs who have a deeply rooted legal knowledge. But I also know what gets us off the list [of five states without a hate crimes law]. I’ve looked at other states that have been vague and that just won’t suffice.”
Holcomb offered legislators another option that he would support, one that hasn’t been publicly discussed much among Statehouse leaders.
He suggested copying the list already in federal law, which includes actual or perceived race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation and more, and put it in the sentencing statue of Indiana law.
Holcomb did not commit to vetoing a bill without a list, saying he’ll cross that bridge when he gets to it. He did say he wouldn’t rule out testifying in a House committee about his support for a list in the law.
He said such a move would be “tactical,” and accomplish less than his preferred option to get the message to lawmakers.
“That may be good show but I’m not sure how much dough that’s really worth,” he said.
Holcomb said he wants people across the state to write and call their representatives and tell them that they want a list.
"I'm going to encourage them not to stop with me, not to just write me,” Holcomb said. “They got my vote. But they need to contact the legislators that vote — their legislator, respectfully, and appeal to their hearts and minds why this is important. Not just to them, but to the life of our state."
With the hate crimes bill now in the House, Speaker Brian Bosma said it’s not just about the words gender identity and sexual orientation being in the bill. Some House Republicans don’t want to do anything at all with hate crime legislation.
"There are plenty of people in our caucus who believe we should take no action on this,” Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said Tuesday. “It's not a necessity. It's not an issue in their community. It isn't just about those two categories (gender identity and sexual orientation). It's about whether there's a list and whether we have to take this action at all."
Many who do not want the list in the bill say having it would only leave some people out.
Holcomb’s statements Wednesday are at odds with what a lot of Republicans in the Indiana Senate and House of Representatives want. Holcomb said he’s OK with going against others in his party, saying they are not “drones.”
Democrats in both chambers have called for Holcomb to do more in the second half of the session. Sen. Tim Lanane, D-Anderson, said he didn’t feel the governor’s leadership as the Senate discussed the bill.
But the Democrats and Holcomb agree unquestionably on one thing — the bill needs a list of characteristics.
“We have a lot of lists,” Holcomb said. “We just passed a lot of bills with lists. We have a list in the First Amendment. We have 27 amendments. We have a list in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. We have life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and I will be happier when we have this list as well.”
MORE COVERAGE | Republicans, Democrats still can't agree on hate crimes bill specifics | Drastic changes made to Indiana's hate crimes bill | Why Republican Sen. Jim Merritt voted against stripping hate crimes bill | Indiana moves a step closer to hate crime law with vote | Gutted hate crimes bill passes Senate, will move to House | Hate crime law arguments of 2019 bring back memories of 1994 discussions
