by Erica Morrison OPB | Published June 5, 2019
After weeks of sitting idle awaiting a vote from the Ways and Means Committee, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum’s hate crime bill is back in motion in the Oregon House.
In Salem, Senate Bill 577 went before the House Subcommittee on Public Safety for a work session where it received minor tweaks and returned to the full Ways and Means Committee where it’s expected to be voted on Friday.
In Portland, advocates of the bill joined victims of hate crimes and bias incidents gathered at a press conference organized by the non-profit Unite Oregon, to urge legislators to pass the bill this session. A few months prior in the same room, Rosenblum and her Task Force on Hate Crimes listened to hours of testimony from survivors of incidents of bias.
“We don’t know the entire story of what is happening in Oregon,” said Unite Oregon executive director Kayse Jama at Wednesday’s press conference. “We don’t collect accurate data; we also don’t track hate incidents and we’re asking Oregon legislators to ensure that we tell the full story of what’s happening with hate crimes in Oregon.” (more)