Jacksonville councilman scathes proposed ‘anti-hate’ bill as ‘insulting, disingenuous’
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville City Councilman Terrance Freeman is hoping the city withdraws Councilman Jimmy Peluso’s proposed “anti-hate” bill, as he calls it “insulting.”
Peluso proposed an ordinance that would make changes to the city’s ordinance code to enhance penalties for hate crimes.
However, Freeman pointed to local and state laws that already punish those who commit crimes motivated by hate and prejudice. He said the legislation “disingenuously seeks to leverage our emotions for political purposes.”
“Someone who’s never walked a day in your shoes in the life that I’ve lived, is trying to call on an issue,” Freeman told Florida’s Voice. “And here I am, as a man that has lived this life, that has said this issue’s been addressed based off of state law here and local law. I get offended as a black man.”
The legislation is in response to an August 2023 shooting, which took place at a Dollar General in Jacksonville. The devastating shooting was allegedly “racially motivated” and the suspect killed three people followed by taking his own life.
“We’re using the legislative process to virtue signal as if it’s going to magically make hate go away? No,” Freeman said. “That’s just not gonna be a path that I’m willing to go down. We’re gonna keep tackling the real issues in our city that I think will lead to ending hatred, which is helping everyone try to have a better quality of life.”
The legislation would add up to triple the assessed fine and/or jail penalty if the offense was committed with the “primary purpose of expressing, or attempting to promote, animosity, hostility or malice against a person or persons or against the property of a person or persons because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age or disability,” according to the bill summary.
The councilman said the legislation would also strain police officers, making them decide what is or is not hate speech. He also pointed to the potential repercussions to the First Amendment, saying the city “will likely face litigation, diverting taxpayer dollars from other pressing needs.”
Freeman said tackling issues to improve quality of life in the city, such as fixing roads, schools, and ensuring the sheriff’s office has what they need to keep the community safe is what people need, “not their elected officials to virtue‐signal so those politicians can get a good headline.”
“I don’t know what his political ambitions are, but he’s playing the same playbook that Biden, you name all of the folks that continue to try to rise up their progressive leaning ranks,” Freeman said “They always do this virtue signal and he’s using this playbook and i called him out on it.”
