Case Explained: South Carolina struggles to pass hate crimes legislation – Legal Perspective

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) — A House bill has passed the South Carolina House twice, but it continues to stall in the Senate, leaving victims without justice and the state without critical protections.

For 11 years, South Carolina State Rep. Wendell Gilliard has been pushing for one thing: meaningful consequences for crimes motivated by hate.

A tragedy that sparked a mission

On June 17, 2015, tragedy struck the Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. Clementa Pinckney, a South Carolina State Senator with a booming voice and commanding presence, was killed along with eight others during a Bible study by a self-proclaimed White supremacist motivated by hate.

Pinckney’s legacy sparked Rep. Gilliard to action. He introduced House Bill 3039 in honor of his fallen colleague, legislation designed to hold perpetrators of hate crimes accountable.

Twice has passed, still stalled

The House has passed H3039 twice, but when the bill reaches the Senate, the chamber where Senator Pinckney once served, it stalls.

“When it went to the Senate a couple of years ago, only two senators held the bill up from becoming law,” Rep. Gilliard explained. “Now, the problem is, some senators over there that we depend on have become lukewarm.”

A grassroots strategy

Frustrated by the Senate’s inaction, Gilliard has shifted tactics. Rather than wait for state lawmakers, he’s mobilizing communities.

His strategy has been to get counties and cities in the state to pass hate crime laws and ordinances of their own, keeping the pressure on state lawmakers to do the same.

A real-world example of why this matters

The consequences of not having a state hate crime law are deeply personal for an Horry County man. Shawn Williams moved his family to Conway, South Carolina, only to encounter hate across his fence.

“Our very next door neighbor on the Friday after Thanksgiving 2023 decided to burn a cross approximately six feet away from our fence line, directly facing us, to try to intimidate us to try to get us to move,” Williams recounts.

The perpetrators, Worden Butler and his girlfriend Alexis Hartnett, pleaded guilty to harassment, but their punishment was minimal.

“They were only given overnight time in jail and they paid a fine,” Williams said. “That’s the extent of their dealings with the law because there is no hate crime law.”

What the bill would actually do

Rep. Gilliard says if passed, House Bill 3039 would deliver three critical changes:

• Expedite cases: Hate crime cases are backed up in the federal system. A state hate crimes law would allow South Carolina to process these cases more quickly through the state court system.
• Encourage reporting: When hate crimes carry serious consequences, victims and witnesses are more likely to come forward and report incidents. A state law sends a clear message that these crimes will be taken seriously.
• Create accountability and data: The bill would mandate record-keeping across all 46 counties in South Carolina.

“In all 48 states, we found that one of the highlights of having a hate crime law, you would have the right to know where the hotspots are,” Gilliard said. “Currently, South Carolina lacks this crucial data. “We’re basically at the mercy of the federal government at this point,” Gilliard explains.

The call to action

His message to South Carolinians is direct: “I want everybody to call their senator and ask them to stop the hate and to pass Bill H-3039.” The question now is whether state senators will heed that call and whether South Carolina will finally join the 48 states with hate crimes legislation on the books.

House Bill 3039 remains pending in the South Carolina Senate.

For information on how to contact your state senator or support this legislation, visit the South Carolina Statehouse website.

Copyright 2026 WCSC. All rights reserved.