Column: California takes the lead on hate. That’s a good thing. Someone has to do it
State Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco speaks during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, March 29, 2018. The new anti-hate law, which went into effect Friday, bans the spewing of epithets and other hatred toward people based on race, color, religion, sexual orientation or national origin. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
State Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco speaks during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, March 29, 2018. The new anti-hate law, which went into effect Friday, bans the spewing of epithets and other hatred toward people based on race, color, religion, sexual orientation or national origin. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
The latest, and perhaps most powerful, anti-discrimination statute to ever be enacted in California was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown. It’ll take effect at midnight tonight.
The law was proposed in response to a series of high-profile scandals in California that began in 2006, when a state senator admitted to having sexually harassed two women — one of whom later accused him of rape. It resulted in the resignation of then-Attorney General Jerry Brown and a federal investigation of the senator’s conduct.
Brown had the wisdom to veto a previous anti-hate law, but not a single legislator followed his lead on the bill, which passed in early 2018 by a wide margin.
The new law, which went into effect Friday, bans the spewing of epithets and other hatred toward people based on race, color, religion, sexual orientation or national origin. The definition of “hate” is broad, and includes speech that a reasonable person would find offensive.
The law also allows businesses and organizations to hire or fire based on any reason that’s not related to race, color or other protected classes.
The anti-hate statute, called Senate Bill 54, is part of California’s suite of so-called “religious freedom” statutes, which protects private individuals and businesses from government