Senate Responds To Virginia Violence With 'Anti-Hate Group Resolution'
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Illinois Senate passed an anti-hate group resolution after a car plowed into a group of protesters in downtown Charlottesville, Virginia Saturday.
The resolution calls on police to consider groups such as the neo-Nazis and other white supremacist groups as terrorists organizations.
The measure, which was passed on Sunday, states neo-Nazism and white nationalism have remained very real threats to society, as well as racial progress. Furthermore, it says both continue to grow as menaces, trying to divide the nation and promote hatred, classism and ethnic-gratification.
State Sen. Don Harmon sponsored the measure. He says the United States fought two wars against the ideologies of groups that are heirs to the Ku Klux Klan and Nazis. Harmon also said that it is vital Americans stand in opposition to the hatred, bigotry and violence displayed by white nationalist groups over the weekend.
The Illinois Senate plans to send copies of the resolution to President Donald Trump, members of Congress and Gov. Bruce Rauner.
Rauner, after initially refusing to say the violence in Charlottesville was an act of domestic terrorism, on Monday corrected his position after consulting with law enforcement on the topic.
In a series of tweets, Rauner said, "The deadly violence in Charlottesville this weekend is abhorrent and absolutely an act of terrorism. Racism, hatred and violence have no place in here."
