ROCK HILL, S.C. -- An attack caught on tape in Rock Hill has prompted outrage and a call for new laws.
A South Carolina lawmaker says the state should have a hate crime law. State Rep. John King, a Democrat from Rock Hill, tried passing a law last year but his fellow representatives didn't agree.
On April 9, Josh Esskew was brutally beaten outside a gas station convenience store. Surveillance video shows him getting hit over the head with a bottle and then at least eight men jumping in to join the fight.
"I believe it was a hate crime," said Esskew.
Even if Esskew was attacked because he's gay, the state of South Carolina can't charge anyone with that crime because the state doesn't have a hate crime law.
King tried to get the law passed last year, but it went nowhere.
"Anytime there's hate towards anyone -- sad situation. It made me realize the bill I introduced a year ago is needed here in South Carolina," said King, who plans to reintroduce the bill. "We do have people who hate other people because of race or sexual orientation or maybe their religion."
But Republican Rep. Tommy Pope is a former prosecutor and says there's no need for a hate crime law.
"I'm concerned, from a prosecution standpoint, that interjects an additional element to be proven that doesn't need to be there," Pope said.
But he's keeping an open mind before meeting with King next week.
"I'm not against it, just not sure I see the need," Pope said.
But Esskew -- who spent two days in the hospital after the beating -- disagrees.
"What started it was me, the way I was carrying myself, that's what set it all off," he said.
The York County Sheriff's Office says they are still investigating. So far, no one has been arrested in the case.
South Carolina is one of only five states without a hate crime law on the books.
