Kansas City Council moves forward on strengthening hate crime penalties

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Certain groups are pushing the Kansas City, Missouri Council to take steps to keep you and your family safe. That’s the goal of a new ordinance being considered after an increase in hate crimes across the city.

Those helping draft up the legislation argue passing this ordinance can be the difference between life and death in some cases. On Tuesday, multiple people spoke at the city council podium, pleading with city leaders to add stiffer penalties to deter the rising number of hate crimes in the city.

This year alone, 32 people have reported being victims of hate crimes in the city– that’s already more than the number reported last year, according to new data from the Kansas City Police Department.

A hate crime is defined as harassing or attacking someone, defacing property, stalking, and more when it is driven by the victim’s race, gender, religion, national origin, and other backgrounds.

If passed, the new ordinance would stiffen penalties for those convicted of committing a hate crime. It could add up to an extra 60 days in prison on top of the original sentence if someone is convicted of these offenses. The ordinance’s advocates believe that the stiffer the penalty, the bigger the deterrent to commit the crime in the first place.

These advocates shared their concern about the recent uptick in hate crimes, particularly against the LGBTQ community.

Charlie Adams, a transgender man, says this issue hits close to home. Adams is a medical student in Kansas City and works directly with kids who have faced both physical and mental abuse just for coming out as transgender. With that extra level of protection, Adams argues all of the LGBTQ community as well as many others will be safer in public.

“I think the number one this is it tells LGBTQ youth and all LGBTQ people that we care about them,” Adams said. “And your city stands in strong opposition to this that we’re going to create a law to say that and make those protections stronger because this is a value that we hold.”

Justice Horn is the chair of Kansas City’s LGBTQ commission and testified before the committee today, saying this ordinance could crack down on smaller offenses of hate crimes before they escalate into mass shootings or other widespread attacks.

“It’s us being proactive and starting with hate-based crimes on the small end,” Horn explained. “Hate crimes start with something small and then they get to something horrendous. So, if we’re proactive on the front end and preventative, then it will allow for nothing to spar out to shootings and other nastiness that we’ve seen in other communities.”

The Ordinance passed the City Legal Review Committee without advancement. This means they’ll keep it on the table after a few more potential amendments, then send it to a final vote by the council in 2024.

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