Council members clash over Jacksonville hate crime bill

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — An effort to crack down on hate crimes in Jacksonville is teed up for debate before city council.

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There’s likely to be some opposition, with some council members questioning whether the bill would actually do anything.

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Sponsor, Councilmember Jimmy Peluso (D-District 7) told us in April, the legislation comes in response to several local incidents of hate, including the racist Dollar General shooting.

“When we see that some of these hate groups are trying to call for violence, you know, we need to finally say no,” said Peluso.

But Councilmember Rory Diamond (R-District 13) called the legislation “performance art”.

The bill triples jail time and fines for violations of the local noise, littering and unlawful sign ordinances when those violations target protected groups.

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Max penalties would be up to 270 days in jail and a $1,500 fine.

But Diamond pointed out, state law covering much of the same conduct carries a minimum of a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

When a credible threat of violence is present, penalties under state law can reach up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

“You’re always going to go with state law. So, this local law doesn’t do anything. That’s my problem with it. Why just go through this exercise for a law that does nothing?” said Diamond.

Peluso did note, his bill covers noise violations, while the state law does not.

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It also classifies gender identity as a protected class, unlike state law.

“We’re touching on all the things where if someone’s in the public space and they’re screaming ‘we should kill Black people’ or ‘we should kill trans people’, I mean, that’s now going to be punishable,” said Peluso.

The bill will be coming up for its first public discussions in two weeks.

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