Toledo City Council voted unanimously Dec. 2 to strengthen the city’s hate crime law, adding language that makes it clear crimes against transgender people are considered hate crimes.
The decision comes after the robbery and assault of transgender woman Candice Milligan in Downtown Toledo last month.
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Milligan, whose jaw is still wired shut, was in attendance at the meeting and said she was happy Council addressed the issue.
“I was here to make sure the hate crimes ordinance passed as it should have been, just to make sure people here could feel safe when they walk down the street and go about their lives,” Milligan said. “It’s important to help people who live here who are a member of this community feel safe and also to send a message that hate crimes are not going to be tolerated here, that that kind of behavior isn’t going to be tolerated here and this is a place where that’s not welcome.”
The former ordinance, Toledo Municipal Code Section 554.06, read: “‘Intimidation’ under this section means committing a specified crime against an individual, or group, exclusively or in part, because of that victim’s race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, handicap, age or sexual orientation.”
In the new language, the word “intimidation” is replaced by “hate crime” and the phrase “sexual orientation” is replaced by a broader description that includes transgender people: “a person’s actual or perceived heterosexuality, bisexuality, homosexuality or gender identity, by orientation or practice.”
Milligan told police she heard homophobic and transphobic comments before being attacked by three men near near 13th Street and Madison Avenue at 2:50 p.m. Nov. 3. One suspect, Christopher Temple, has been charged with aggravated robbery and felonious assault. He has pleaded not guilty and has a trial set for later this month. The other two alleged attackers have not been identified.
