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REGULAR MEETING January 14, 2019
<br /> Councilmember Jo M. Broden continued,Now,Therefore,be it resolved,by the Common Council
<br /> of the City of South Bend, Indiana, as follows: Section One(I) The South Bend Common Council
<br /> supports the need for clear, inclusionary, and comprehensive state-wide hate crime legislation and
<br /> urges the Indiana General Assembly to pass such legislation in the 2019 legislative session. Section
<br /> Two (II) The Clerk of the City of South Bend is directed to cause this resolution to be delivered to
<br /> all members of the Indiana General Assembly and Governor Holcomb upon passage. Section
<br /> Three (III) The Mayor of South Bend is invited to join in this resolution by affixing his signature
<br /> hereto.
<br /> Councilmember Jo M. Broden went on, We do also have a couple of letters that we would like to
<br /> read into and include in the public record.
<br /> Councilmember John Voorde stated, The first (1st) one (1) is from the Neighborhood Resource
<br /> Connection. Dear Members of the South Bend Common Council, On behalf of the Board of
<br /> Directors of the Neighborhood Resource Connection, we are writing this letter to express NRC's
<br /> unanimous support of resolution 19-02 calling for the enactment of legislation addressing hate
<br /> crimes in the state of Indiana. We believe it is time to join the other forty-five (45) states which
<br /> already passed hate crimes laws. According to the FBI, over five hundred(500)biased/hate crimes
<br /> were reported by Indiana cities, towns, and universities from 2008 to 2016. The true number is
<br /> likely higher since many major cities failed to report incidents for several years because reporting
<br /> isn't mandatory. In 2016,Jodie Henderson,an Afghanistan war veteran,was found beaten to death
<br /> and lying in the street in a South Bend neighborhood. The motivation for the murder, Mr.
<br /> Henderson was gay. The crime was murder,but the motivation was hate for his sexual orientation.
<br /> These crimes have the power to send threatening and intimidating messages to entire communities
<br /> of people, residents of our neighborhoods and City. We believe this is much needed legislation,
<br /> but yet there is still resistance in the state legislature, as evidenced by the January 2nd South Bend
<br /> Tribune viewpoint,"Can Thoughts be a Crime?"submitted by four(4)of our state representatives.
<br /> Their misunderstanding and, therefore, misrepresentation of hate crimes legislation is quite
<br /> troubling. We commend the Common Council for taking action on this critically important action.
<br /> Signed respectfully, Diana Hess the Executive Director and Keya Young the Board President.
<br /> Councilmember Jo M. Broden stated, Thank you John. We all interface with the Director and the
<br /> neighborhoods that associate with the Neighborhood Resource Center, so we thought that was
<br /> important to share with you all as peer-elects on the Council. Pivoting off that, I also would like
<br /> to enter into the public record and I will not read this,but it will be available online. It is a counter-
<br /> viewpoint,if you would,by Patrick Pierce a professor at St. Mary's College. He wrote a viewpoint
<br /> Saturday, January 12th that appeared in the South Bend Tribune titled "Talk responsibly on bias
<br /> crime laws." I would like to enter that into the record as an opportunity for members of the public
<br /> and Council Members' reference. It is an excellent counter viewpoint in our estimation. (The
<br /> article is available in the flat file of Resolution 4707 which is available in the City Clerk's Office)
<br /> Councilmember Jo M.Broden continued,The last piece,and this is only three(3)short paragraphs,
<br /> but we've been having people reach out to us already in support and there have already been letters
<br /> and things sent down to the General Assembly. One (1), I would like to bring forward as the
<br /> representative of the Fourth (4th) District, specifically a letter that was brought to my attention by
<br /> my neighbors to the north. Both the University of Notre Dame and St. Mary's College as well as
<br /> other University College Presidents have signed a joint letter that is,as I said,being communicated
<br /> to the General Assembly. I would like to actually read this because I think there are some
<br /> significant points in it for our consideration as a community. So,this letter was crafted by Dr. Mark
<br /> McCoy, he is the President of DePaul University. I would like to read it,please, into the record.
<br /> Councilmember Jo M. Broden quoted, As presidents of colleges and universities in the great state
<br /> of Indiana, we write in support of strong hate crime legislation, and join regional business groups
<br /> who call for laws which would authorize judges"to enhance penalties against criminals who harm
<br /> others based on their disability,race,religion, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity."We stand
<br /> with Governor Holcomb when he says,"No law can stop evil,but we should be clear that our state
<br /> stands with the victims, and their voices will not be silenced. For that reason, it is my intent that
<br /> Indiana be one (1) of forty-six (46) states with hate crimes legislation- not one (1) of five (5)
<br /> without it." We call upon our elected representatives to act now in support of all Hoosiers,
<br /> regardless of appearance,location,orientations or religious beliefs. Indiana is home to some of the
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