Two GOP state lawmakers want harsher penalties for crimes motivated by politics.
Introduced by Reps. Jack Daniels (R-New Franklin) and Josh Williams (R-Sylvania Twp.), House Bill 457 came in the wake of the recent assassinations of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and Melissa Hortman, who was the Democratic speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives.
HB 457 seeks to define a state hate crime statute by adding a victim’s partisan affiliation and whether they serve or served in an elected office as classifications in aggravated murder cases. In Ohio, an aggravated murder charge carries a mandatory life sentence without eligibility for parole, and prosecutors can seek the death penalty.
It adds political motivation as an enhancement possible in any violent felony case, which would require the maximum sentence for the crime and an additional sentence of 10 years.
Daniels worries about the chilling effect on free and fair political conversations, he said.
“The fear of violence will quiet that in an unhealthy way for our democracy,” Daniels said in an interview Wednesday.
In June, Hortman and her husband Mark were shot and killed in their home. Just miles away, state Sen. John Hoffman, a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, and his wife Yvette were shot. Both of them survived. 57-year-old Vance Boelter has been indicted on numerous federal charges, including murder.
The incident hit home for Daniels, a freshman lawmaker.
“It’s that this seems to be more normalized, that to say and do crazy things is okay,” Daniels said. “I do think we need to bring tone down.”
Kirk, who was 31, founded Turning Point USA, which pushes for conservative politics at high schools and colleges. Federal and state officials allege he was shot and killed by 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, who was arrested Thursday and charged Tuesday.
According to the legislative text, HB 457 also seeks to define “biological sex,” which excludes an individual’s gender identity. Biological sex is among the other hate crime classifications listed in the bill.
As prosecutors in Utah seek the death penalty against Kirk’s alleged killer, Ohio lawmakers have long debated whether to find other methods of executions or eliminate the death penalty altogether. Ohio hasn't had an execution since 2019. Gov. Mike DeWine has indefinitely postponed all executions since taking office, saying the state is unable to acquire the drugs to carry out lethal injections. Bills to ban the death penalty in Ohio have been proposed mostly by Democrats, though some Republicans have signed onto those efforts over the years.
