As a resident of Lexington County and a registered voter, I urge a NO vote against the proposed hate crimes bill. My rationale is that the weaponization and escalation of language will be for some, not all, and that in itself can be discriminatory.

The support of the state Chamber of Commerce for such legislation is to promote tourism by putting forth a more positive image of the state. Enactment of such a law, in my view, would have the opposite effect of stigmatizing our state by admitting the necessity for it. The implication is that we have not yet overcome our negative past despite proof to the contrary.

In today’s “political correctness,” presumed “systemic racism” and an elitist “cancel culture,” the danger is great that enforcement will be a one-way street.

We already have national civil rights’ legislation in effect to protect the rights of all individuals without regard to race, gender, ethnicity, religion, or national origin, etc.

Personally, I do not see how hate crimes’ can be defined without qualifiers that do not discriminate in some fashion.

Walter K. Wood, Lexington