City proposal makes noose and swastika displays a crime

Displaying nooses, swastikas or burning crosses would be a crime punishable by jail time under a bill introduced in City Council today.

Councilman Darrell L. Clarke said he would explore the free-speech ramifications of his bill in public hearings. His bill would add definitions of ethnic intimidation to the city code, establish a penalty of up to 90 days in jail, and increase the maximum fine from $300 to $1,500.

Clarke's bill would make such acts illegal in any place of employment, public facility, or public right of way.

"We don't think it's appropriate for people to place a noose or a swastika in the workplace," Clarke said.

The legislation stemmed from a recent incident at the construction site of the Comcast headquarters in Center City. An African American hoist operator said a white member of the glaziers' union shook a noose at him and said he "wanted to kill someone."

It was one of many copycat noose-connected reports following the events in Jena, La., where a series of racially charged confrontations began when a group of white students hung nooses from a schoolyard tree. The alleged disparity in the treatment of the students who hung the nooses and black students arrested in subsequent confrontations was the subject of national outrage and debate.

It's unclear at what point such displays are considered hate crimes.

The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office is investigating the noose incident, and others have argued in congressional hearings that such a display is a federal hate crime.

In other business today, Council:

Gave final approval to exempting local bakeries from the city's trans-fat ban.

Gave final approval to requiring firefighters to have state-of-the-art ear protection to prevent hearing loss from sirens and other high-decibel hazards they work with.

Authorized a lease of the old Widener Library on Lehigh Avenue as headquarters for the Philadelphia Public Access Corp., clearing the way for the city's first four public-access television stations.

Withheld a vote on requiring the city to compensate the Boy Scouts of America for any improvements to their city-owned headquarters if forced to move. The city has increased the rent of the building from $1 to nearly $200,000 a year in an ongoing dispute over the organization's national exclusionary policy on gays. Clarke said negotiations were continuing to allow the Boy Scouts to stay, without an increase in rent, if they could guarantee that they would not discriminate against gays here.