Hate Crimes Legislation Must Pass
Feature Story by civilrights.org staff - 10/15/2002
In May 2001, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Michigan) introduced H.R. 1343, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The bill, which currently has 206 sponsors, has not yet reached the floor of the United States House of Representatives for full vote. Civil rights organizations are stressing the importance of the passage of this act in this Congressional term.Upon the call of civil rights groups and other organizations, Representative Conyers has filed a discharge petition, which if signed by 218 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, will push the bill to the floor for a vote.
This proposed hate crimes prevention legislation allows the federal government to provide enhanced assistance to state and local authorities to punish hate crimes to the fullest extent possible. It also expands the definition of a hate crime to include crimes motivated by the victim’s disability, gender or sexual orientation.
The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) is reinforcing the importance of this legislation stating that hate crimes continue to plague and terrorize the United States and are on the increase in this post 9/11 era.
The tragedies of James Byrd, an African-American who was dragged to death in Jasper, Texas, and Matthew Shepard, a young gay man who was beaten and left to die in Laramie, Wyoming, placed hate crimes legislation at the forefront of civil rights issues. Hateful acts committed against Arab-Americans, South Asians and Sikhs in the wake of September 11th have further supported the call for this stronger legislation.
Civil rights groups are urging members of Congress to sign Rep. Conyers’ discharge petition and to pass HR 1343, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
