NY state senator proposes ‘911 Anti-Discrimination’ bill

Senator Hamilton’s proposal aims to combat the growing number of “living while black” incidents that have occurred around the country. Tsubasa Berg/Kings County Politics

Anti- Discrimnation Bill

A Democratic New York State Senator proposed legislation this week that would make calling 911 on law abiding people of color a hate crime in New York.

State Sen. Jesse Hamilton’s proposal would allow people to bed criminally prosecuted for making racially motivated calls to police without evidence of malice, Patch.com reported.

“That’s going to be a hate crime,” Hamilton told reporters Aug. 15 “This pattern of calling the police on black people going about their business and participating in the life of our country has to stop.”

Being dubbed the “911 Anti-Discrimination legislation” by some, Hamilton’s proposal aims to combat the increasing number of “living while black” incidents that have occurred in New York and around the country.

According to Patch, Hamilton said that under the new law, the Oakland woman who called 911 to report a barbecue, the Philadelphia Starbucks manager who had two customers arrested and the Yale student who reported a fellow student for napping could be charged and prosecuted, had they called 911 in New York State.

The bill comes a week after a white woman called the police on Hamilton himself for handing out campaign materials for his re-election bid in his own district.

“Living while black is not a crime, but making a false report – especially motivated by hate – should be,” Hamilton told reporters. “These 911 calls are acts of intimidation.”