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REGULAR MEETING January 14, 2019
<br /> the protections of the Human Rights Commission do not protect us from violence. In the United
<br /> States, we have a long history of violence against the LGBTQ community. From the riots at
<br /> Stonewall to the tragic events at Pulse nightclub, our spaces can become places where the
<br /> escalation of hate can end our lives. For the third (3rd) year in a row, the number of reported hate
<br /> crimes has risen in the United States. The FBI knows that victims of hate crimes are largely
<br /> targeted for race, religion, and sexual-orientation. It is vital that the Indiana General Assembly
<br /> understands that the LGBTQ community must be included in any laws designed to protect
<br /> Hoosiers from hate.
<br /> Lance Mullins, 1522 East Mishawaka Avenue, South Bend, IN, stated, I am the Development
<br /> Director of the LBGTQ Center. Because hate crimes reporting is not mandatory, the numbers of
<br /> victims are undercounted. The reality of hate crimes in our community is felt in the loss of the
<br /> victims we mourn. In the corner of our building is a sign that reads"Justice for Jodie", a reminder
<br /> of the loss of Jodie Henderson who was murdered in South Bend in January 2016. Jodie was a
<br /> twenty-six(26)year old black gay veteran remembered for a generous heart and the love of family.
<br /> Jodie's family attended every day of his trial, a trial where the bias motivation of the crime was
<br /> not investigated or counted. When someone from of our community is taken too soon because of
<br /> hate, we deserve justice. Our community is dying because of hate. At the beginning of 2018, the
<br /> Human Rights Campaign attempted to draw attention to fatal transgender hate crimes to honor the
<br /> lives of those lost. They found that by November of last year,twenty-two (22)transgender people
<br /> had been killed in the United States simply for living their authentic lives; eighty-two percent
<br /> (82%) of them were women of color, sixty-four percent (64%) were under the age of thirty-five
<br /> (35). Fatal crimes against LGBTQ people continue to rise and we have no hope of federal
<br /> protections. The crisis of violence against LGBTQ people demands action. Crimes motivated by
<br /> hatred and bigotry have no place in our City, our State, or our Country. We applaud the South
<br /> Bend Common Council for taking this step in urging the Indiana General Assembly to pass
<br /> inclusive hate crime legislation this session.
<br /> Samuel Centellas, 2740 Miami Street, South Bend, IN, stated, I'm here speaking on behalf of La
<br /> Casa de Amistad tonight. I was born in Santa Cruz, Bolivia and am an immigrant to this country.
<br /> I work with immigrants on a daily basis. Most of us do. But I work for immigrants on a daily basis
<br /> in this community and I have to be subjected to the type of hate speech that is targeted at our
<br /> community all the time. I have to read it on Facebook, I have to see it and we get nasty voicemails.
<br /> This is one(1)of the methods to help us fight against those kinds of things to speak up for the kind
<br /> of country we want to be and the type of City we want to be. I'm speaking last to kind of bat clean
<br /> up. Everybody covered several of my points but there are still two (2) things I would like to say.
<br /> Laws can do many things. They can restrict actions and they change activities. Laws can also
<br /> protect people. In this case, I think laws talk about the place you live. Laws talk about the character
<br /> of the people that live there. Laws talk about the things that are important to those people that live
<br /> in that place where they are. This says that we, as Hoosiers and South Benders,won't tolerate hate
<br /> and activities that are driven and motivated by hate. It is important that we, as a community, say
<br /> that. I'm not just speaking to Council because I think we have support here but for everybody else,
<br /> as well, in terms of the work that is going to have to happen from here forward to get legislation
<br /> like this to pass in the State. One (1) of the things that drives me crazy about Indiana are our
<br /> exclusive lists that we are on. I get tired of using that negative peer pressure of we are one (1) of
<br /> only five(5). Whether we were the first(ls`) or the last to do this, we should do it because it is the
<br /> right thing. As Hoosiers, we have to stop saying that everybody else lead, now let's do it. I don't
<br /> care what every other state has done. I don't care what every other community has done. I don't
<br /> care what other councils, mayors or congress people have done. What matters is that the City of
<br /> South Bend is going to say we are about the right thing and we are going to push the rest of our
<br /> State to make this happen statewide. Thank you very much.
<br /> Jason Banicki, 3822 West Ford Street, South Bend, IN, stated, It's really easy to stand up here and
<br /> support something like this because in reality while no one should have to fear being a victim of a
<br /> crime just because they are, unfortunately in the society we live in, that all too often happens. For
<br /> those who ask why motivation should matter, for quite many crimes, motivation matters. That is
<br /> why we have homicide,murder,manslaughter,reckless homicide and things of that nature. Indiana
<br /> is no stranger to codifying enhancements for certain activities. If you commit a crime within 1,000
<br /> feet of a school zone, that can be a crime. If you are a multiple time felon, that can be an
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