4-28-09, 3:40 pm
Democratic House leaders are expected to bring to the House floor the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, also known as the Matthew Shepard Act, Wednesday, April 29th. If passed this bill would provide local law enforcement agencies with additional resources to investigate hate crimes motivated by race, color, gender, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability.
The law would provide federal agencies with a means to participate in local hate crimes cases when local agencies can't or refuse to adequately investigate serious bias-motivated crimes. In addition, funds would be made available to local agencies for training purposes.
A central provision of the law would be to expand federally protected categories to include sexual orientation and gender identity. Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, noted that federal hate crimes statistics show that one in six hate crimes are committed against an LGBT person, and that number is on the rise. In addition, he pointed out that the large majority of Americans support passage of hate crimes legislation. 'The nation cannot wait any longer to protect all of its citizens,' he said. 'We should all be able to walk the streets without fear.'
Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACP's Washington Bureau, described the need to address hate crimes and expand protections as the nation's 'unfinished business.' Shelton rejected the idea that the law would limit free speech or religious rights. 'Nothing in this bill prevents people from saying what's on their minds in the streets and certainly not from our nation's pulpits,' he said.
Echoing this remark, Caroline Frederickson, director of the ACLU's Washington legislative office, explained that her organization's support for the bill is based on its protections of free speech. She pointed out that local or federal authorities would have the authority to investigate issues of speech only when the speech act in question is directly linked to the crime under investigation. 'This bill has the strongest protection against the misuse of a person's free speech that Congress has enacted in the entire federal criminal code,' Frederickson argued.
The hate crimes prevention act is needed to stem the rising tide of violence against Latinos, said Janet Murguía, president of the National Council of La Raza. FBI data suggests that violence against Latinos accounts for some 40 percent of the rise in hate crimes since 2003. A recent Southern Poverty Law Center study revealed that 48 percent of new hate-based groups have mobilized mainly around hatred of immigrants from Latin American countries, Murguía pointed out. 'Passage of this bill is a civil rights priority, and if passed it will help vulnerable groups,' she stated. 'People should not live in fear simply because they are Latino.'
Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, said that this legislation speaks directly to core democratic values. 'It is time as a nation to say that crimes based on gender, disability, sexual orientation, on gender identity just like those committed on the basis of race, national origin or religion are crimes against all of us, crimes against our communities, crimes against entire groups of people, crimes against our nation's value, crimes against humanity.'
Michael Lieberman, an attorney for the Anti-Defamation League, added that the bill does not create additional penalties for hate crimes. It's main goal is to provide additional resources and to provide a 'gateway' for federal authorities to assist in difficult investigations.
Wade Henderson, president of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), urged swift passage of the bill and expressed confidence in the House vote scheduled for Wednesday, April 29th. 'In the Senate, we'll enjoy broad support there as well,' he explained. LCCR, among other groups, have urged their members and supporters to call their congressional representatives and ask for their support on the measure.
Over 300 civil rights, civil liberties, faith-based and law enforcement organizations have endorsed the bill.
