SAN DIEGO — San Diego officials are pushing for state legislation to stop "hate littering," or the distribution of flyers, posters or symbols with hateful messages that target protected communities.
As antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ acts rise, lawmakers hope that legislation such as AB 3024 will hold people accountable for hate crimes.
"Hate of all types is never to be tolerated in San Diego -- and with the passage of AB 3024, our government sends a strong message that threatening flyers that terrorize our communities are not just immoral, but in fact illegal," said San Diego City Councilmember Raul Campillo, who was part of a group of local officials that introduced the state legislation.
That group included San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, City Attorney Mara Elliott and Assembly member Chris Ward.
Hate groups have increasingly turned to flyering to spread hateful messaging while avoiding attention, according to Ward's office.
"These anti-Semitic, anti-LGBTQ and other hateful messages are being left on our windshields, in our driveways, and on our front doors, and there's been an alarming uptick in distribution in recent years," Ward said in a statement. "The Stop Hate Littering Act sends a clear message to these bigots that your tactics will not divide us, and you will be held accountable for your actions."
The bill would expand protection for victims and create new legal tools for law enforcement to hold people accountable. Gov. Gavin Newsom has until Oct. 30 to sign or veto the bill.
Hate crimes on the rise
The Anti-Defamation League recorded more than 8,800 instances of antisemitic assault, vandalism and harassment across the United States in 2023, the most since the organization began tracking in 1979.
Hate crimes in California increased 20% from 2021 to 2022, according to California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
Some San Diego residents have seen hateful flyers around their neighborhoods.
College Area residents found antisemitic flyers in Ziploc bags on their driveways back in May. One resident called it an "immediate flashback" to their childhood.
Last July, people in San Carlos, Santee and Del Cerro found flyers on their car windshields with hate-filled messages targeting Jewish and LGBTQ folks.
Rabbi Devorah Marcus in San Carlos said several congregants, including Holocaust survivors and WWII veterans, have experienced hate littering.
"It's not what our country's values are, it's not what our community's values are, and it's not, from the veterans' perspectives, what they fought for those many decades ago to help keep the world free from hateful fascism and this hate ideology that only leads to once place, which is violence and destruction," Marcus said.
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