San Gabriel Valley : HATE CRIME ORDINANCE
It will soon be illegal in Pasadena for people to insert hate fliers into cereal boxes and other grocery store products.
Sending a tough message to hatemongers and closing a loophole in state tampering laws, the City Council has directed the acting city attorney to write a law that would make it a misdemeanor for a person to insert fliers into such products.
At least seven hate fliers have been found in Pasadena Ralphs and Vons stores in the last year.
“We must stop this cancer in our country,” said Mayor Bill Paparian during Monday’s debate.
The call for the tough new law comes a few weeks after Pasadena Rabbi Bill Gordon and his wife, Deena, were the targets of a hate crime.
On March 20, the Gordons found the back window of their car shattered by a brick with anti-Semitic slurs written on it. It is one of 20 hate crimes in the city since January 1995, police said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
