Savannah, Georgia LGBT leaders want misdemeanor charges in gay man’s beating upgraded to felony

Ga Voice - Georgia is only one of five states without a hate crimes law and local LGBT activists are now relying on a federal hate crimes law to intervene in the beating of a gay man in Savannah allegedly by two U.S. Marines.

“I’ve been in touch with the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., on this and they were passing it on to appropriate officials to look at,” said Georgia Equality Executive Director Jeff Graham.

“Since we don’t have a statute we have to depend on federal authorities for the crime to be investigated and prosecuted,” he said.

The two Marines arrested and charged in the beating over the weekend face misdemeanor charges.

“I’m very concerned this happened in the first place. But these misdemeanor charges are outrageous,” Graham added. “And then to turn [the Marines] over to the military police is a miscarriage of justice.” Read more.