(WXYZ) — The Chapel at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield is a place that many consider to be a safe place of worship. But, more recently, places like Temple Israel are becoming the target of threats.
"Every morning, literally, we get communication about other synagogues, other houses of worship that have had their synagogue desecrated or a threat in the community," Temple Israel's executive director Jason Plotkin said.
The topic of threats against houses of worship is a far too common conversation amongst worshipers and colleagues says Plotkin. Three Michigan lawmakers are hoping to address it.
"We represent the broad spectrum of Michiganders. We represent the communities most impacted by rising hate violence in the state," Representative Noah Arbit said.
State Rep's Arbit, Kristian Grant, and Ranjeev Puri, are sponsoring the Michigan Hate Crime and Institutional Desecration Act.
"The burden of proof, the threshold to proving a crime of bias in court is very substantial, but the penalties are so weak that prosecutors often don't want to use it," Arbit said.
The new legislation would make desecrating any houses of worship a hate crime. It would also strengthen current hate crime laws already on the books.
The current laws have not been updated since 1998 and this new package has 4 bills and would include sexual orientation, gender identity, and people with disabilities.
"This legislation, again, just sends a strong message and provides our prosecutor another tool to make sure these crimes are being responded heavy-handed," Representative Ranjeev Puri said.
"I'm very hopeful for legislation where people don't have to be victimized twice when the actual atrocity happens." Representative Kristian Grant adds.
The three representatives plan to propose the legislation this week.
"Anything that can be a deterrent to these kinds of crimes. These kinds of acts. Whether it's a synagogue, a mosque, or any other house of worship takes us a step further," Plotkin said.
These three lawmakers have been working with the state's attorney general's office and have given support for updating the current laws on the books.
