FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — A busy Monday for Governor Andy Beshear continued inside the Capitol at noon when he signed Senate Bill 9, also known as, “Lofton’s Law”.
Thomas “Lofton” Hazelwood died in 2021, a victim of a fraternity hazing incident. Since then, his parents have been fighting hard for an anti-hazing piece of legislation.
“Our community has been wonderful. Thank you to Senator Robby Mills and Rep. Jonathan Dixon who’ve helped us along the way,” said Thomas’s mother, Tracy. “We have lots of family and friends that have backed us throughout all of this,” she continued before becoming emotional.
“It’s a phone call nobody ever wants to get and we hope this never happens to anybody ever again,” Mrs. Hazelwood added.
After signing SB 9 into law, which calls for all hazing incidents that result in physical harm or death for the victim to be classified as Class D felonies, Governor Beshear thanked the Hazelwood family for championing this cause, and presented them all with the pens he uses to sign these bills.
“This won’t bring my baby back, but this is going to save other lives,” Hazelwood said in closing.
