Renewed Call To Boost Minnesota's Laws Against Hate Crimes

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- There's a renewed call in Minnesota to boost the state's laws against hate crimes, after a spike in reported violence against the AAPI community, in addition to the Atlanta spa shootings that killed eight people including six Asian women.

The group Communities Combatting Hate says reforming Minnesota's loopholes in hate crime law is urgent, and they're calling on the legislature to take action.

The bill they support expands the concept of "crimes motivated by bias" to include ethnicity and gender identity, and gender expression. It also says hate crimes include if a person's race, color, ethnicity, religion, gender and more were just part of the reason for the crime, not just the sole motivation.

They say this and other changes close loopholes that misclassify hateful incidents. The legislation also fund grants to nonprofits to support victims of hate crimes.

The proposed changes have the support of Gov. Tim Walz.

"What happened in Atlanta does not have to have happen again, and we have a chance to make sure it never happens. Our communities are in pain, they are hurting, we're scared, and we're looking for elected officials that take action right now," Nick Kor, with Asian American Leaders, said.

Another key change is allowing victims to report incidents to non-law enforcement agencies like schools, community organizations and Minnesota Department of Human Rights.

The proposal in the Minnesota House has a hearing Tuesday afternoon.