A Virginia Democrat has introduced a bill to “remove hate speech from public places.”
Del. Suhas Subramanyam introduced the bill in response to “antisemitic incidents” in the state.
If passed, the bill will require the government to remove any graffiti that is deemed to be hateful on the taxpayer’s dime, including on private property, if the owner fails to do so themselves.
“It’s been bad enough that we had to endure these incidents of racist and antisemitic graffiti, but it’s made worse when no one takes responsibility for the clean up and they remain in the public’s eye,” Subramanyam told WUSA9. “This bill would address that. Hate has no place in Virginia, and our diversity and unity is what makes us strong.”
Del. Subramanyam recently attended a rally against hateful graffiti and tweeted, “we will always fight back against these cowardly acts.”
According to a report from DCist, the vandalism allegedly included “a laundry list of hateful slurs against Black people, LGBTQ people, and Jewish people.”
We are showing up and #standingagainsthate with @loudoun4all in solidarity against the racist and antisemitic graffiti sprayed in South Riding this past week. We will always fight back against these cowardly acts.#hatehasnohomehere #hatehasnohomeinsouthriding pic.twitter.com/FlN6T4VJjv
— Delegate Suhas Subramanyam (@SuhasforVA) December 4, 2022
The DCist report bizarrely blamed the vandalism on Trump having dinner with Ye.
“The vandalism is part of a nationwide wave of antisemitism and hate speech, with high-profile public figures like the entertainer Ye publishing antisemitic attacks online and former President Donald Trump dining with a Holocaust denier,” the report claimed. “The Anti-Defamation League, an organization that tracks hate incidents towards Jewish people and other identities, told NPR that 2021 was the worst year for anti-Jewish violence and harassment since it started tracking such incidents in 1979, and the group expects 2022 to be similar.”
