January 11, 2021

The Honorable Asa Hutchinson, Governor of Arkansas
State Capitol Room 250
500 Woodlane Ave.
Little Rock, AR 72201

Arkansas House Judiciary Committee
1 Capitol Mall, Fifth Floor
Little Rock, AR 72201

Arkansas Senate Judiciary Committee
1 Capitol Mall, Fifth Floor
Little Rock, AR 72201

Dear Governor Hutchinson and Members of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees,

The holiday season and the arrival of vaccines for COVID-19 provided a glimpse of hope that has been missing from much of 2020.  As we embark on a new year, we have an opportunity to continue to enhance the spirit of love and mercy inherent in this season and offer protection to all citizens of Arkansas.

In the upcoming legislative session, a hate crime bill, Senate Bill 3, filed by Sen. Jim Hendren (R-Sulphur Springs), will be presented to the state legislature. Interfaith Arkansas seeks to encourage unity among all people in Arkansas and believes we can unite in the truth we share while learning, sharing, and celebrating the unique qualities that make us diverse. As a coalition of interfaith voices and religious leaders, we strongly recommend the passage of SB-3.

Presently, Arkansas is one of only three states that have no hate crime legislation.  Such an omission gives the impression that Arkansas is unwilling to protect some of its most vulnerable citizens —people who have been victimized because of their race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, nationality, or disability. The rise of hate crimes in the nation only enhances the necessity for Arkansas to take a positive stance on this issue.  Not to do so is a sin of omission. Hate crimes intentionally send a message that minorities are unwelcome and unsafe.

We, as interfaith voices and religious leaders in the state of Arkansas, believe all people have sacred worth and have been created to share peace and love in the world. All are therefore worthy of protection.  A group perceived as different cannot be sought out and attacked.  To permit such action means we fail in working towards a society in which we love and treat each other as sacred, beloved persons.  Our State should not be perceived as a safe harbor for hate. SB-3 will help prevent violence and convey our society’s intolerance for these crimes.

The proposed legislation adds no new criminal categories: it merely permits a 20% increase in maximum sentencing for acts proven to be hate crimes.  Sentencing enhancement already exists for crimes committed against police officers, first responders, and their family members based on their relationship as representatives of the state, and Arkansas should show support for vulnerable minorities as well. The legislation signals, not just to Arkansans, but to the rest of the country as well, that, in the words of Rev. Preston Clegg, Pastor of Second Baptist Church, Little Rock, “Arkansas is a place of open doors, open hearts, and open minds, [where] hate in any form has no place.”

Interfaith Arkansas is promoting efforts to contact other government officials and state legislators, especially members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, to advocate for passage of this hate-crime legislation, Senate Bill 3.

Sincerely,

Interfaith Arkansas Board of Directors and Interfaith Voices