West Jordan City Council has passed a resolution urging the state to stiffen penalties for those who commit hate crimes.
The council approved the resolution in a 5-2 vote this week. The idea came from Republican state Sen. Daniel Thatcher of West Valley City.
He’s been pushing for two years for stricter penalties to be added to the state’s criminal code for crimes targeting a person based on his or her race, religion or sexual orientation.
In an interview last month, Thatcher said he thinks in light of recent violence in Charlottesville, Va., and elsewhere in the country, lawmakers may finally be coming around to passing a hate crimes bill.
“So this year I do believe momentum is building," he said. "I’ve continued working on my colleagues over the interim, and I believe I’m up to 18 votes now.”
Thatcher said he hopes to get other cities around the valley to adopt similar resolutions to increase pressure on the legislature.
