[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 87 (Thursday, June 13, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6246-S6248]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           SENATE RESOLUTION 263--RELATING TO CHURCH BURNING

  By Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN (for herself, Mr. Levin, Mr. Daschle, Mr. 
Kempthorne, Mrs. Boxer, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Wellstone, Mr. 
Lieberman, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Pell, Mr. Lautenberg, and Mr. Inhofe) 
submitted the following resolution; which was held at the desk:

                              S. Res. 263

       Whereas there have been at least 32 fires of suspicious 
     origin at churches serving African-American communities in 
     the last 18 months;
       Whereas these churches are a vital part of the life of 
     these communities;
       Whereas intentionally burning churches is a very heinous 
     crime in these communities, and all across America, because 
     church burning was used during the civil rights struggle in 
     an attempt to intimidate African-Americans from exercising 
     their Constitutional rights;
       Whereas there have been at least 60 fires and incidents of 
     desecration in houses of worship in 15 different States since 
     1990;
       Whereas intentionally burning churches, when done to 
     intimidate any American from the free exercise of his or her 
     rights as an American, is inconsistent with the First 
     Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees 
     every American the right to the free exercise of his or her 
     religion;
       Whereas intentionally burning churches, when done to 
     intimidate any American from the free exercise of his or her 
     rights as an American is also inconsistent with the First 
     Amendment guarantee that ensures that Americans can freely 
     and peaceably assemble together; and
       Whereas intentionally burning churches, when done to 
     intimidate any American from the free exercise of his or her 
     rights is a serious national problem that must be 
     expeditiously and vigorously addressed: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That--
       (1) the Senate condemns arson against churches as being 
     totally inconsistent with American values;
       (2) the Senate believes that the investigation and 
     prosecution of those who are responsible for fires at 
     churches, and especially any incidents of arson whose purpose 
     is to divide communities or to intimidate any Americans, 
     should be a high national priority; and
       (3) the Senate commends the President for devoting all 
     Federal resources necessary to bring those responsible for 
     committing any act of arson against churches to justice, and 
     urges that all investigations of fires at churches which are 
     of suspicious origin are conducted in a sensitive manner that 
     reflects the special character of churches and the rule they 
     play in American communities.

  Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN. Yesterday, Mr. President, I came to the floor and 
spoke about what I called the domestic terrorism that we are suffering 
in this country with the burning of churches and other hate crimes in 
our Nation. I spoke at some length about it and mentioned a time that I 
will submit a resolution pertaining to the church burnings. I am 
submitting that legislation now, Mr. President. I would like it held at 
the desk until the time of adoption.
  Mr. President, I know there will be other legislative activity 
associated with this issue in the days to come. But as the Chair is no 
doubt aware, since yesterday, when I first took to the floor, there has 
been yet another church burning in this country.
  As I said yesterday, the people who are perpetrators of this rash of 
hate crimes and church burnings are no more than cowardly domestic 
terrorists. These are people who work under cover of darkness and 
anonymity to intimidate some and encourage others, and it is out of 
cowardice.
  However, in spite of the objective of these actions, which it has 
been suggested are intended to start a race war, there is every 
indication that these arsonists are confused about the country in which 
their crimes are taking place.
  Most Americans--I reiterate, most Americans--are appalled and 
outraged. The fact of the matter is, there is in this darkness some 
light coming through. The light relates, Mr. President, to the efforts 
of Americans, from the President of the United States down to ordinary 
people, to stand up, to speak out, to be heard and to demonstrate that 
this kind of crime, this kind of heinous crime and this kind of 
domestic terrorism is not to be tolerated in this America.
  I have been encouraged, Mr. President, by some of the reports from my 
home State. In Glenn Carbon, IL, there had been a cross burning. In one 
of the newspapers in Illinois, the headline there was ``Neighbors 
Comfort Black Family Who Found Cross in Yard.'' The story goes on to 
say that the people, white and black alike, who live in the community 
came to the aid of the individuals who suffered the cross burning to 
indicate their support, to indicate their reassurance that the racial 
hatred that was symbolized by the cross burning did not reflect the 
feelings of the neighborhood or of that community. I think that is a 
very positive and powerful thing.
  Another article, Mr. President, from the Alton Telegraph, ``Neighbors 
show good will to victims of cross burning,'' makes the same point. 
This article goes on to say that neighbors delivered flowers and food, 
cards, plants and other gifts to the family on Monday, people reaching 
outside of themselves to stand up against hatred, to stand up against 
racism, to stand up against the evil that this church burning 
represents.
  I think therein lies the key. We can take action here in this U.S. 
Congress, the Senate and the House, and the

[[Page S6247]]

President can take action. We can all come together as a collective 
community through our Government to take leadership in showing that in 
this America this kind of criminality will not be tolerated, but we can 
only do that, and it only takes real meaning when we are joined in our 
official capacity by individual, unofficial action, when the churches, 
themselves, come together to participate in ceremonies and services and 
marches and demonstrations in favor of unity and in favor of love.

  When we really focus in on the fact that this rash of hate crimes is 
just that, a rash of evil afoot in the land, and that good people of 
all races will make it a point to be heard, not to sit back in silence 
and to allow this evil to take seed among us, but, rather, that we will 
all stand up as individual citizens to say, ``This America, in this 
time, is putting the ugly legacy of racism and racial hatred behind. We 
will not go back to the days when these kinds of things can happen with 
impunity.''
  We will engage every asset, every resource at our disposal to see to 
it that these criminals are brought to justice, that the truth is 
uncovered, that no stone will be left unturned in our efforts to 
prosecute the perpetrators of these crimes, because they are criminals. 
We will make it very clear as a national community, all of us, that we 
will not tolerate this kind of conduct, and that the people who have 
tried to foist this horror on our community, on our country, will be 
prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
  Mr. President, I also say after the speech that I gave yesterday, 
which is already in the Record, I was just really taken personally by 
the expressions of support, expressions of concurrence and the 
expressions from my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, people 
coming up to say, ``We think it is just terrible what is going on. We 
want to do something about it. We want to be heard. We want to make 
certain that everybody understands that this kind of activity has no 
place in America.'' I am encouraged and heartened by that, because I 
think, if anything, that change of heart, that change of collective 
consciousness, that change in the climate of opinion is precisely the 
victory that reflects the moral victory that the civil rights movement 
achieved.
  We have a mindset in this country that does not tolerate this kind of 
horror, that not only does not tolerate it, but is ashamed by it. Out 
of our repudiation, out of our rejection of these expressions of evil, 
I believe we will find a new birth as an American community. We will 
find a new level, frankly, of coming together and of working together, 
and of unity in this country, and will, I think, set the stage so the 
young people that are here today will begin to ask the question, in 
their time: ``I remember the days when race was a debate in the United 
States, but we got past that. We got smarter, we matured, we moved 
beyond that.'' That is my hope for these young people.
  If anything, I think with the expressions of support, the expressions 
of love, the expressions of unity, the good will that is being shown 
all over this country in reaction and in response to the hatred we have 
seen, the cross burnings and the church burnings, the moral victory 
will be ours as a Nation, and we will move forward as a Nation 
together, a stronger country because of it.
  Mr. President, I understand the resolution will be adopted or can be 
adopted later this evening. I wanted to bring to my colleagues' 
attention the fact that this resolution is pending. I understand there 
will be other legislative initiatives in this regard. I am delighted to 
join with those, as well, because I think it is very important as a 
body we speak with one voice, that these people who are doing this are 
not Americans. Their activities fly in the face of the America that we 
believe in, fly in the face of the values that this America represents 
to the world, and that we will not allow their evil to shame all of us, 
and we will not allow them to get away with it. From that, Mr. 
President, I believe we will be a greater Nation, and we will have 
found, out of this horror, some light, and from that light we will be 
able to build a stronger Nation.
  I commend my colleagues who have already joined me. Again, thanks to 
everyone who has stepped up and said something. One other word: There 
is a tradition that the only thing that allows evil to prevail is for 
good people to say nothing. Now is the time for good people to be 
heard. Now is the time for good people to stand up and say, ``The 
America that we know and the America we believe in is an America that 
cherishes the value of brotherhood and love and unity.''

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, let me associate my remarks with my 
colleague from Illinois, Senator Carol Moseley-Braun. I am delighted 
that I had the opportunity to be on the floor to hear the very, very 
important words that the Senator from Illinois has shared with all of 
us today about this extremely important issue.
  I am delighted that the citizens of Illinois had the intelligence to 
send her here so that she could be a leader and a voice that all of us 
could follow. I am delighted to support the Senator with the 
resolution, and I am delighted to stand shoulder to shoulder as we 
pursue this very, very important issue in this country and put to rest 
the racism that we see.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I want to speak following the very 
eloquent words of our friend and colleague from Illinois, Senator 
Moseley-Braun, about the wave of church burnings in the South. There is 
a way in which it would be assumed that all of us here in this Chamber, 
reflecting, representing, as we do the American people throughout the 
50 States, would naturally be outraged by these church burnings. But 
this is one of those cases where it is important not to leave the 
assumption not testified to, not to leave the feelings unexpressed, not 
to leave the Chamber as a body silent. Therefore, I commend the Senator 
from Illinois for introducing the resolution which she will.
  I have asked her and she has agreed to add me as a cosponsor. At this 
point, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to be added as a 
cosponsor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. I thank the Chair.
  Mr. President, last night, as we know, a fire broke out in the First 
Missionary Baptist Church in Enid, OK, which brings now to more than 30 
the number of African-American churches that have been burned by 
arsonists over the past 18 months, and, of course, the pace seems to be 
quickening in the last couple of weeks.
  This outrage recalls memories of similar attacks on religious people 
and religious institutions throughout the centuries. Sadly, they 
continue in the other places in our world today. Christians, Jews, 
Moslems, and others have all suffered for their faith in many horrible 
ways. The details of the acts of persecution vary widely, but the seeds 
of hatred that underlie the terror are sadly and tragically quite the 
same.
  The sheer blasphemy--I use the word intentionally--the blasphemy of 
these church burnings must chill our souls. We do not know if the acts 
of arson are the result of some horrible conspiracy. But in some 
measure, it would be a little bit easier to grasp the enormity of this 
evil if it were the result of the work of a single group of criminals 
because we can crush such a small band of terrorists, which is what 
they are. But, if these arsonists are not connected in some organized 
way, we have to ask ourselves again, as we have before in our history, 
``How do we fight back against the larger stain of racism that exists 
in so many individual hearts consumed by the shared desire to destroy 
the spirit of those they hate?'' The answer, I want to suggest to my 
colleagues today, to this conspiracy of crime and hate is to enter into 
our own conspiracy of law and love.
  By law I mean we must--and I am confident we are using--use every 
legal weapon in our arsenal, in society's arsenal, to investigate every 
fire and follow every lead until the perpetrators of these injustices 
are brought to justice. We must consider these to be acts of terrorism 
and use the most sophisticated techniques at our disposal to hunt down 
those who have perpetrated them.
  By love what do I mean? I mean reaching into ourselves and as a 
country enveloping the victims of the church burnings with our own 
prayers and support and acts of kindness to make up, as best we can, 
not just for

[[Page S6248]]

their tragic loss of their houses of worship but to respond to the 
sense of fear and alienation that go with those burnings.
  Mr. President, the ties that bind us as Americans--particularly our 
shared faith in God--are greater than this evil. By coming together 
now, we can guarantee that these acts of evil will gain no ground.
  In a sense, all of us who worship God and try to love our neighbors 
as God's children are the targets of these hate crimes, these 
arsonists. Yes; we may have different backgrounds and come from 
different denominations, but we are bound by a common faith--the same 
faith that helped inspire the founding of this Nation, as is clear from 
the first words of the Declaration of Independence; that the rights 
with which we are endowed do not come from some committee of lawyers or 
constitutional theorists; that we are endowed by these rights by our 
Creator. That is the source of our liberty, the driving idea of our 
democracy. Religion has always been a source of strength and purpose 
and, indeed, of unity in America. Religious people have carried some of 
the most noble acts of citizenship and leadership across the history of 
our country.
  So when these arsonists strike at houses of worship in America, they 
strike at the heart of America, the source of America's strength. Those 
who are full of such hate must fear that which poses the greatest 
threat to them. The spirit of faith that inhabits those who worship in 
the churches that have been burned must strike great fear in the hearts 
of those who have burned them. But the spirit of faith that has been 
expressed in those churches is not only strong; it is, as the arsonists 
will learn, a spirit that is unbreakable.
  So, though the church is burned, the light of faith that has burned 
within that church will grow stronger and spread in the minds and souls 
of those who have worshiped there and, I believe, in the minds and 
souls of the great majority of the American people.
  So I look forward to the resolution coming forth and to whatever 
other ways in which this Senate can express its outrage at the acts of 
arson and its sense of fellowship and brotherhood in the most profound 
sense for those who have worshipped at these churches.

                          ____________________