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'No one should have to live in fear because of who they are' | Calls for hate crime laws grows in North Carolina

Josh Stein is joining a bipartisan push for federal hate crimes legislation that are aimed at giving law enforcement tools to combat such crimes.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein is joining a growing bipartisan chorus calling for Congress to pass a proposed hate crimes bill which he says would help law enforcement better pursue justice for victims.

The Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act, which was introduced in the Senate last summer, would establish grants within the Department of Justice to help state and local law enforcement agencies train up on tackling hate crimes. This includes learning more about identifying, classifying, and reporting them, along with funding to develop anti-hate crime programs, community education initiatives, and state-run hotlines.

The most recent data the FBI has is from 2019, when they reported 7,314 hate crime incidents. However, anti-hate crime groups believe that these incidents are under-reported. Stein says this funding could very much help communities that often find themselves in those crosshairs.

"No one should have to live in fear because of who they are. If we're going to successfully fight the violence that hateful rhetoric spawns, we need the tools necessary to get the job done," he said in a statement.

The push for the passage of the act comes on the heels of a spate of recent attacks. The Asian-American and Pacific Islander community was rocked after the massage parlor shootings in Atlanta that left six Asian women dead in March, along with two other victims. Closer to home, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are investigating the murders of two Black transgender women, and if they deem it necessary could press hate crimes charges against the two suspects.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Police say pair of men charged with killing two transgender women in Charlotte hotel rooms

Advocacy groups are calling for swift action. Rell Lowery, head of Transgender Relations and Programming for Charlotte Black Pride, says safety should be at the forefront of everyone's mind.

"This is our home, this is our city, we want to make sure that not just our community is looking out for transgender women, especially transgender women of color. We want to make sure our allies are stepping up to the plate," he said. "Everyone deserves the right to be able to live and feel safe."

WCNC Charlotte is choosing to show the mugshots of the suspects in this case because police believe there may be more victims as the investigation remains active. Any person with information about either incident or any other crime can call CMPD's anonymous Crime Stoppers line at 704-334-1600.

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