Senate Setback on Hate Crimes Legislation
Feature Story by Teresa Kraly and Julie Fernandes - 6/11/2002
In a disappointing loss for the civil rights community, the U.S. Senate today voted 54 to 43 to defeat an attempt to limit debate on a new federal hate crimes bill, thus ending the possibility of a vote on the merits of the bill in the short term.While a majority of Senators support passage of the bill, it takes 60 votes to end debate. In response to the vote, Senator Daschle withdrew the bill from consideration.
This measure, known as the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act (LLEEA) (S.625), would remove existing obstacles to federal hate crime prosecutions and extend federal hate crime law that currently covers race, religion and national origin to cover hate crimes based on actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender or disability.
Passage of this bill has long been a priority of the civil rights community. In 2000, the Senate voted 57 to 42 to attach an identical bill to the DOD appropriations bill. However, the measure was stripped from the bill during negotiations with the House.
In an attempt to block the bill's passage, opponents filed numerous amendments ranging from one sponsored by Senator Bob Smith (R-NH) to add pregnant women to the class of individuals protected by the statute to amendments regarding defense issues and human cloning. Senators voted, largely along party lines, to allow for debate and consideration of the more than 19 amendments filed.
While four Republican Senators broke with their leadership to vote for an end to debate, supporters were surprised that two Republican co-sponsors of the bill – Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Senator John Ensign (R-NV) – voted against ending debate. Also, several Republicans who had supported an identical bill in 2000 voted against ending debate, and thus against proceeding with a vote on the bill – Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT), Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH), Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) and Senator Voinovich (R-OH).
While this vote is a setback, supporters of the bill – including Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR), Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), and many in the civil rights community -- have vowed to keep this issue alive and to continue to fight to ensure that the federal hate crime laws are made more effective and inclusive.
