OLYMPIA, Wash.-Governor Jay Inslee signed legislation on March 13 to upgrade Washington’s hate crime laws to include the defacement of public property.
According to a press release from the Office of Sen. Andy Billig of Spokane, who introduced Senate Bill 5917, the new law closes a loophole in current law by redefining the state’s hate crime statute to include destruction and vandalism targeting public property.
Under the new law a person must be found guilty of acting maliciously and intentionally based on a person’s race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, or mental, physical, or sensory disability.
