The Greater Terre Haute NAACP Branch is calling on all interested and concerned people to protest the inadequacy of the Indiana Hate Crime law just signed by Governor Eric Holcomb. Branch president Sylvester Edwards says, “This law fails to protect Indiana residents, and it needs to be fixed as soon as possible.”
A rally in the Greater Terre Haute area is set for Saturday, May 18, 2019, on the Third Street side of the Vigo County Courthouse at 12:00 noon. The purpose of the rally is to bring public awareness to the need to Fix the Hate Crime Law; to make the law comprehensive by including the classes that are in the 2019 law as well as the omitted classes of gender, gender identity, age, and sex.
Signatures on petitions will also be gathered to be sent to Governor Holcomb and the General Assembly, urging that they Fix the Hate Crime Law.
Similar protest rallies are planned around the State by other NAACP units, coordinated by the Indiana NAACP State Conference of Branches at the same time. In a statement to Governor Holcomb, NAACP State President Barbara Bolling-Williams remarked: “the omission of sex and gender from the list turns a blind eye to 51% of Indiana’s population, including Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch and 32% of Indiana’s population 50 years of age or older. Governor Holcomb you are in this class. In the words of Dr. King, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’”
For more information, contact:
John E. Lang, Chair, Political Action Committee
Call to Action: NAACP Website
Phone: (765) 832-7957
E-Mail: johnelang1@aol.com