By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Beaufort County Council has rejected a proposed hate intimidation ordinance, ending a weeks-long effort to create a local misdemeanor offense aimed at addressing hate-based incidents in unincorporated areas of the county.
Council voted 6-4 against the ordinance during second reading Monday, effectively killing the measure after it had advanced through committee and an initial vote earlier this month.
The proposed ordinance would have made it a misdemeanor to intimidate or harm someone based on characteristics including race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability. Penalties would have included a fine of up to $500 or up to 30 days in jail.
The ordinance had previously cleared first reading on an 8-2-1 vote April 13 after being unanimously recommended by the county’s Community Services and Public Safety Committee.
A divided council
Monday’s vote reflected a split council, with Logan Cunningham, Anna Maria Tabernik, David Bartholomew, Paula Brown, Mark Lawson and Tom Reitz voting against the ordinance.
Alice Howard, Joe Passiment, York Glover and Gerald Dawson voted in favor.
Concerns raised by council members who opposed the ordinance centered largely on legal authority and potential constitutional challenges.
Bartholomew said his opposition was not about the intent of the ordinance, but about whether it could withstand legal scrutiny.
He pointed to an opinion from the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office suggesting local governments may not have the authority to create criminal hate crime laws.
County attorney Brian Hulbert echoed those concerns, warning council the ordinance could face immediate legal challenges.
He also questioned whether the proposed penalty was sufficient.
“It’s just ridiculous to trivialize a hate crime to that level to being a misdemeanor,” Hulbert said, adding that such offenses are typically handled as felonies at the state level.
Cunningham also raised concerns about how the ordinance would be applied, describing it as a “slippery slope” that could open the door to difficult-to-prove claims.
Lawson questioned whether the ordinance could infringe on free speech, particularly in cases involving religious expression.
Supporters argue for local action
Supporters of the ordinance argued it would fill a gap in protections for residents in unincorporated areas of the county, where local ordinances do not exist.
Gerald Dawson said the possibility of legal challenges should not prevent the county from taking action.
“Hate should not be shown toward anybody, regardless of their race, color or creed,” he said.
Advocates also pointed to inconsistencies across the county.
The City of Beaufort and the Town of Bluffton have both adopted their own hate crime ordinances, creating what some described as uneven enforcement depending on location.
Sreden Prince, with the Lowcountry Coalition Against Hate, told council earlier this month that “justice should not depend on a zip code.”
What happens next
While the local ordinance failed, Beaufort County Council has already taken a formal position urging the South Carolina General Assembly to pass a statewide hate crime law.
Council unanimously approved a resolution earlier this month supporting statewide legislation .
South Carolina remains one of only two states without a hate crimes law on the books.
For now, enforcement of hate-related offenses in Beaufort County will continue to rely on existing state laws, unless or until lawmakers act at the state level.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.