With no statewide law, Midlands county is 1st in SC with hate crimes ordinance
Richland County now has a hate crimes law on the books.
It becomes the first county in South Carolina to enact such a law, joining 19 cities and towns in the state with similar policies, including Columbia, Cayce and Arcadia Lakes.
Richland County passed the hate intimidation law unanimously Tuesday, after hearing mixed opinions from residents. Richland County Council women Tyra Little and Allison Terracio sponsored the ordinance.
Little said she wanted the county to have the law for several reasons, including that she didn’t feel right about some municipalities in the county having that protection, while residents in other Richland County cities and towns did not. There is no statewide law specific to hate crimes.
“Full justice should not be decided upon where you live,” Little said. “Full justice should be afforded to everyone.”
A handful of residents Tuesday shared opposition to the ordinance for varying reasons, from skepticism that the policy would successfully deter hate crimes, to concerns about infringement on free speech.
Those who spoke in favor of the ordinance shared concerns over increasing hate crime rates, and thanked the county for taking up a measure that state lawmakers have not.
One speaker referenced the Mother Emanuel AME Church shooting in Charleston, which happened 10 years ago this June. White supremacist Dylan Roof shot and killed nine people during a Bible study at the all-Black church, and was later convicted on federal hate crime charges.
“(That was) a tragedy here that happened in this state, and we still don’t have hate crime legislation. Multiple municipalities do, the state doesn’t,” said one person who spoke at county council Tuesday.
The county’s ordinance makes it a misdemeanor to commit a bias-motivated crime, and adds another layer of legal protections for intimidation. If a crime were motivated by a person’s race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, disability or other bias, the perpetrator would face penalties for that crime, and for violating the hate intimidation ordinance.
Disseminating any “hate material,” would also be a violation of the new local law. Violations could also come with fines up to $500 per offense.
County Councilwoman Gretchen Barron Tuesday thanked Little for bringing the ordinance forward, and reiterated why she felt the local law is necessary while there is no statewide law.
“Until you experience it personally, you have no idea what it’s like to go somewhere and look over your shoulder and know that the person that could be wanting to harm you could very well be in the same room and they could harm you and nothing could be done,” Barron said.
South Carolina is one of two states in the country without a hate crimes law. Wyoming is the other state without such a law — a federal hate crimes law is named after Wyomingite Matthew Shepard, a gay man who was murdered for his sexuality in the 1990s.
Cities and towns in South Carolina have started passing their own policies to fill the gap in state law. Columbia passed a similar law in 2019, and last year the town of Cayce became the first municipality in Lexington County to enact a local hate and intimidation ordinance.
The new policy comes as hate crimes continue to rise in South Carolina. Between 2022 and 2023, reported hate crimes in the state increased by 77% — from 65 total incidents in 2022 to 115 incidents in 2023, according to data tracked by the U.S. Department of Justice. Race and religion were the two most common motivators for South Carolina hate crimes in 2023, according to the data.
The DOJ has programs that help train local law enforcement officers on how to identify hate crimes, which Richland County may participate in.
“Hate intimidation is a crime in itself, so it should be treated as such,” Little said, adding that she is hopeful that other counties in the state will look at passing their own policies.
This story was originally published June 4, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
