Georgia is one of five states without a hate crimes law on the books; however, legislation proposed last week could change that.  Sponsored by State Rep. Chuck Efstration, a Gwinnett Republican, House Bill 426 would introduce enhanced penalties for hate crimes if signed into law. According to the most recent data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 27 such crimes were reported in 2017. 

 A similar bill didn’t make it out of committee last year, despite wide support from law enforcement. We spoke with that bill's sponsor, former State Rep. Meagan Hanson, about why that legislation was a priority for her. Rachel Glickhouse, partner manager for ProPublica's Documenting Hate project, also joined the conversation. 

"On Second Thought" for Monday, Feb. 25, 2019

If asked about the "Plessy v. Ferguson" case, many Americans might connect the case to racial segregation. Far fewer would know the name Homer Plessy or what happened after he was arrested for refusing to leave a whites-only railway car in New Orleans the summer of 1892. 

Author and "Washington Post" editor Steve Luxenberg discovered the act of protest was decades in the making. Luxenberg joined "On Second Thought" and explained how Plessy, a fair-skinned man of African descent, was the perfect plant to challenge the constitutionality of separate rail cars in a case that made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1896.

 

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