New Law Coming to Virginia: You Can’t Be Biased Against Islamists

Just when you thought Virginia ran out of insane laws to pass, they come up with another.  A newly introduced law, SB624, states that if you have hatred or bias toward Islamists, you will go under a new hate crime classification.

You really can’t make up the horrors that Gov. Spanberger and her Bolshevik legislature devise. Her Lt. Gov. is a radical Islamist, so now we get to see what that means.

Bill Summary
Assault and battery; definition of “Islamophobia”; penalty. Defines “Islamophobia” as it relates to the crime of assault and battery as malicious prejudice or hatred directed toward Islam or Muslims. This definition applies regardless of whether the victim is actually a practitioner of Islam, provided that the perpetrator targeted such a victim based on a perceived adherence to such faith. The bill also clarifies that religious conviction includes Islam. The bill directs the Department of State Police, in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, to include the bill’s definition of “Islamophobia” in its hate crime reporting central repository.

AI Summary
This bill amends Virginia law to define “Islamophobia” as malicious prejudice or hatred directed toward Islam or Muslims, clarifying that this applies even if the victim isn’t actually Muslim but is targeted based on a perceived adherence to the faith. It also confirms that religious conviction includes Islam. The bill directs the Department of State Police, in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, to include this definition in its hate crime reporting system, which is a central repository for tracking bias-motivated offenses. This addition aims to help law enforcement, prosecutors, and state agencies identify and classify such offenses, without creating a new crime or restricting protected speech.