Subscribe"There are many reasons why this needs to pass the Senate. First of all, one in six hate crimes is motivated by the victim's sexual orientation or gender identity. Secondly, the job of the U.S. government, first and foremost, is to protect all Americans, whether they're black, Christian, disabled or gay. Finally, this legislation has been endorsed by more than 230 civic, religious and law-enforcement organizations. According to a recent Gallup poll, 68 percent of Americans - cutting across race, religion and ideology - favor strengthening laws to give local police and sheriff's departments the tools and resources they need to prevent and prosecute heinous acts of prejudice."*
"A new report on bias crimes indicates that hate crimes directed at GLBT people are as prevalent as hate crimes directed against other minorities.
The report, released to by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, is titled "Comparison of Hate Crime Rates Across Protected and Unprotected Groups [PDF]." On average, the report shows, 13 out of 100,000 GLBT individuals report being the victim of a bias-motivated crime. For African Americans, the rate is eight out of 100,000; for Muslim Americans, 12 out of 100,000; and for Jewish Americans, 15 out of 100,000.
'Often people try to pass off [the absence of federal hate crimes laws pertinent to the GLBT community] as... not as big a problem as race-based hate crimes,' Rebecca Stotzer, a research fellow at the Williams Institute, said...
...'This report’s findings provide a new perspective that should inform policy makers who are deciding whether to include hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity in federal hate-crime laws,' said Williams Institute research director M.V. Lee Badgett.
'The numbers show that hate crimes remain a serious problem for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities,' added Badgett.
If passed, the Matthew Shepard Act would provide federal hate-crimes protections to the GLBT community. The House of Representatives has already passed an identical bill.
Under current law, only crimes committed on the basis of race, color, religion, and national origin are covered by bias crime provisions. Crimes committed on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and disability are not covered under current federal legislation."
Pastors preaching from Scripture on homosexuality could be threatened with persecution and prosecution.'"Uh, that'd only be so in a situation wherein lightning and flames spew forth from your piehole as you rant, thus smiting me into nothing more than a pile of burning ash at the foot of your altar.
"The LLEHCPA/Matthew Shepard Act provides the Justice Department with the ability to aid state and local jurisdictions either by lending assistance or, where local authorities are unwilling or unable, by taking the lead in investigations and prosecutions of violent crime resulting in death or serious bodily injury that were motivated by bias. The LLEHCPA also makes grants available to state and local communities to combat violent crimes committed by juveniles, train law enforcement officers or to assist in state and local investigations and prosecutions of bias-motivated crimes.
A hate crime occurs when the perpetrator of the crime intentionally selects the victim because of who the victim is. While violent hate crimes are a widespread and serious problem in our nation, it is not the frequency or number of violent hate crimes alone that distinguishes these acts of violence from other types of crime. A random act of violence resulting in injury or even death is a tragic event that devastates the lives of the victim and their family, but the intentional selection and beating or murder of an individual because of who they are terrorizes an entire community and sometimes the nation. For example, a 2006 Harris Interactive poll found that 64 percent of gays and lesbians are concerned about being the victim of a bias-motivated crime.
The importance of the LLEHCPA is that it provides a backstop to state and local law enforcement by allowing a federal prosecution if — and only if — it is necessary to achieve an effective, just result, and to permit federal authorities to assist in investigations. Federal support, in the form of grants for training or through direct assistance, will ensure all bias-motivated violence is adequately investigated and prosecuted, while at the same time ensuring state and local authorities are not overburdened.
The bill is endorsed by notable individuals and more than 230 law enforcement, civil rights, civic and religious organizations, including: President George H.W. Bush’s attorney general, Dick Thornburgh; National Sheriffs’ Association; International Association of Chiefs of Police; U.S. Conference of Mayors; Presbyterian Church; Episcopal Church; and the Parent’s Network on Disabilities. Poll after poll continues to show that the American public supports hate crimes legislation inclusive of sexual orientation, including a Kaiser Family Foundation poll released in November 2001 showing 73 percent of Americans supporting hate crimes legislation that includes sexual orientation.
The Hate Crimes Prevention Act protects the First Amendment rights of the accused by prohibiting the introduction of evidence of association or expression to prove that a crime has been committed, unless it specifically relates to the offense. The legislation does not punish, nor prohibit in any way, name-calling, verbal abuse or expressions of hatred toward any group, even if such statements amount to hate speech. It covers only violent criminal actions. During consideration of the bill, the Judiciary Committee explicitly noted that nothing in this legislation would prohibit the lawful expression of ones deeply held religious beliefs. To further ensure that there is no ambiguity on this point, an amendment offered by Rep. Davis (D-AL), was adopted that explicitly states that conduct protected under the First Amendment free expression and free exercise clauses are not subject to prosecution."*
In other news, is it just me, or is metafilter getting gayer?
""The LLEHCPA/Matthew Shepard Act provides the Justice Department with the ability to aid state and local jurisdictions either by lending assistance or, where local authorities are unwilling or unable, by taking the lead in investigations and prosecutions of violent crime resulting in death or serious bodily injury that were motivated by bias....The importance of the LLEHCPA is that it provides a backstop to state and local law enforcement by allowing a federal prosecution if — and only if — it is necessary to achieve an effective, just result, and to permit federal authorities to assist in investigations. Federal support, in the form of grants for training or through direct assistance, will ensure all bias-motivated violence is adequately investigated and prosecuted, while at the same time ensuring state and local authorities are not overburdened."*
posted by thirteenkiller at 10:47 AM on June 20, 2007