Advocates calling for lawmakers to act after recent murders of transgender women

Friday, August 9, 2019

News 12 at 6 o'clock/NBC 26 at 7

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Many across South Carolina and Georgia are calling for lawmakers to act after two transgender women were murdered in recent weeks.

LaDime Doe, as her family says is her preferred name, was shot and killed in Allendale last weekend. SLED investigators say she was found shot to death in a car off Highway 278 on Sunday night.

In North Charleston, S.C, 29-year-old Denali Stuckey was found murdered only a couple weeks before.

Some in Allendale wonder if she was targeted. But, South Carolina and Georgia are two of only five states that don't have a law against hate crimes.

Advocates say law enforcement officers need the tools to address these issues. But, lawmakers aren't giving them the power even when hate has been the clear motive.

"That's the essence of a hate crime, " said Matthew Duncan, Co-Chairman of the Georgia Equality Board. "That when an attack is made against one member of that community, because they are a member of that community. It affects everybody. We feel that."

Duncan, who's a member of the LGBTQ community himself, says this issue is becoming a crisis.

In 2017, 28 hate crimes were reported in Georgia, according to data from Gray TV. In South Carolina, there were 87 incidents reported.

"The state needs to stand up and give the authority to local law enforcement so that under state law they can investigate this," Duncan said.

Law enforcement is now speaking out. Sheriff Leon Lott in Columbia, S.C, is calling for action. He says he charged a 16-year-old Cardinal Newman student for threatening to shoot up a school, but he couldn't charge him for racist videos. The videos showed the student shooting a shoebox which he says represented black people.

"Our legislators have got to take some action," Lott said. "We've waited too long. We've suffered too long. People continue to suffer."

In South Carolina, a hate crimes bill is in the House Judiciary Committee. In Georgia, a bill ed the House and is headed to the Senate.

But, until a bill is signed into law, Matthew Duncan says focusing on education is a step in the right direction.

"That education, and that understanding," he said. "That's the best thing we can do to prevent this sort of thing from happening."