Summerville council postpones voting on hate crimes ordinance

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCBD) — The Town of Summerville has decided to wait before adopting a hate crimes ordinance.

Councilmembers voted 4-3 to postpone a vote on whether or not to enact a hate crime ordinance for Summerville at Thursday night’s town council meeting.

Several members voiced their support for the ordinance itself. Still, they said they wanted more time to review the wording in the ordinance or even had harsher violation penalties as the reason for pushing back the vote.

They said they expect to vote on the matter in May.

“We have limitations in our state law that we can impose,” said Summerville Mayor Russ Touchberry. “From a penalty standpoint, we looked at the situation, and that is what we are bound by.”

If passed, the ordinance would allow for harsher penalties for anyone who commits a crime with the intent to intimidate someone based on race, color, creed, religion, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, national origin, or sexual orientation.

Violators would be charged with hate intimidation and be subject to a $500 fine and/or up to 30 days in jail. According to the ordinance, the sentence would run consecutively to the sentence for the underlying crime.

Under the ordinance, however, hate intimidation cannot be used as a standalone offense. Charleston and Mount Pleasant are the first communities in the Lowcountry to adopt hate crime ordinances.

“You know, the greatest asset in Summerville are our people and we want to send a very clear message that hate and bias against anyone is not welcome here in our town,” said Touchberry when asked about the ordinance previously.

South Carolina is one of only two states — including Wyoming — that does not allow for extra punishment for hate-motivated crimes.