Gov. Ned Lamont was joined by West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor and other officials at the bill signing at Congregation Beth Israel.

By Jamil Ragland, CTNewsJunkie.com

A new law intended to protect various communities in the state received Gov. Ned Lamont’s signature Monday, as he signed new hate crime legislation consolidating and strengthening the state’s multiple laws that deal with incidents of hate.

Various elected leaders, law enforcement officials and advocates joined Lamont at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in West Hartford to celebrate the singing of Public Act 26-77.

“A hate crime is not just a crime against an individual. A hate crime is a crime against a community,” Lamont said in remarks before the signing. “A hate crime is an attack upon you because of race, color, creed, sexual orientation, how you identify. And that means not just you’re at risk, but your entire community feels like they’re at risk.”

The bill, which is the result of a review process conducted by the Connecticut Hate Crimes Advisory Council, clarifies the state’s existing hate crime statutes, some of which have existed since the 19th century. It takes laws from all over the state’s general statutes and puts them under one law. The bill also clarifies some language around intent to make it easier for prosecutors to use the law.

Officials also used the occasion to unveil a new initiative called the “Hate is More Than a Word” campaign, which includes a 30 second public service announcement and the launch of a reporting tool for incidents of bias.

Ken Barone, assistant director at the UConn Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy, said instances of hate are underreported in the state. With more information, the state would be able to deploy additional resources to combat hate, he said.

“We also know that there are incidents that occur in big and small ways every day that people are not sure were a crime,” he said. “We still feel like somebody in charge should know what happened, and so we’ve created this reporting tool. Again, if a crime has occurred, call 911. Your police know how to handle it. But if something occurred that maybe didn’t rise to that level, we want you to go to reporthate.ct.gov.”

Commissioner Ronnell Higgins of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection highlighted efforts of law enforcement to prevent hate crimes.

“What is at stake here is the essence of public safety,” he said. “The freedom to be who you are, worship how you choose, and live, work, or study where you want. Many states focus primarily on investigating hate crimes after they occur. In Connecticut, we are investing in prevention, education, transparency, and community trust.”

Swarnjit Singh, mayor of Norwich and possibly the first Sikh mayor in New England, praised the law not just for combating hate, but as a sign that state government is striving for inclusion.

“We are not just about saying that diversity exists. We are working on inclusion with these kinds of things,” he said. “What we are doing today is not just signing a piece of legislation and making it into a law. What we are actually doing is saying that the state of Connecticut rejects hate.”

The bill drew broad bipartisan support when it passed the General Assembly, and Sen. Paul Cicarella, R-North Haven, ranking senator on the Public Safety and Security Committee applauded the governor signing the bill.

“Simplifying and consolidating Connecticut’s many hate crime laws will help police and prosecutors tasked with enforcing them,” he said in a statement. “This is common sense: As lawmakers, we should always be striving to make the job of the police and prosecutors easier so they can hold criminals accountable and protect the public.”

This article was originally published on CTNewsJunkie.com and has been republished with permissiob.

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