[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 106 (Monday, July 26, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9212-S9213]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 THE HATE CRIMES PREVENTION ACT OF 1999

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, one of the most significant amendments 
adopted by the Senate in consideration

[[Page S9213]]

of the Commerce, Justice, State and the Judiciary Appropriations Act 
for Fiscal Year 2000 is the Hate Crimes Prevention Act. I commend 
Senator Kennedy for his leadership in this effort and on this bill, and 
I am proud to have been an original cosponsor. This legislation amends 
the federal hate crimes statute to make it easier for federal law 
enforcement officials to investigate and prosecute cases of racial and 
religious violence. It also focuses the attention and resources of the 
federal government on the problem of hate crimes committed against 
people because of their sexual preference, gender, or disability.
  Violent crime motivated by prejudice demands attention from all of 
us. It is not a new problem, but recent incidents of hate crimes have 
shocked the American conscience. Just this month, an adherent of a 
white supremacist group killed two people and wounded nine others in a 
shooting rampage in Illinois and Indiana that was apparently motivated 
by racial and religious hate. Billy Jack Gaither, 39, was beaten to 
death in Alabama because he was gay. Matthew Sheppard, 21, was left to 
die on a fence in Wyoming because he was gay. James Byrd, Jr., 49, a 
father of three, was dragged to his death behind a pickup truck in 
Texas because he was black. These are sensational crimes, the ones that 
focus public attention. But there also is a toll we are paying each 
year in other hate crimes that find less notoriety, but with no less 
suffering for the victims and their families.
  It remains painfully clear that we as a nation still have serious 
work to do in protecting all Americans from these crimes and in 
ensuring equal rights for all our citizens. The answer to hate and 
bigotry must ultimately be found in increased respect and tolerance. 
But strengthening our federal hate crimes legislation is a step in the 
right direction. Bigotry and hatred are corrosive elements in any 
society, but especially in a country as diverse and open as ours. We 
need to make clear that a bigoted attack on one or some of us 
diminishes each of us, and it diminishes our nation. As a nation, we 
must say loudly and clearly that we will defend ourselves against such 
violence.
  All Americans have the right to live, travel and gather where they 
choose. In the past we have responded as a nation to deter and to 
punish violent denials of civil rights. We have enacted federal laws to 
protect the civil rights of all of our citizens for more than 100 
years. This continues that great and honorable tradition.
  Several of us come to this issue with backgrounds in local law 
enforcement. We support local law enforcement and work for initiatives 
that assist law enforcement. It is in this vein as well that I support 
the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which has received strong bipartisan 
support from state and local law enforcement organizations across the 
country.
  The bill has been materially improved since its introduction on March 
16th. At that time, I questioned whether the bill was sufficiently 
respectful of state and local law enforcement interests and cautioned 
against federalizing prohibitions that may already exist at the state 
and local level. The Senate-passed bill includes a new certification 
requirement, which provides that the Federal government may only step 
in where the State has not assumed jurisdiction, the State has 
requested that the federal government assume jurisdiction, or the 
State's actions are likely to leave unvindicated the Federal interest 
in eradicating bias-motivated violence. I am satisfied that this 
provision will ensure that the Hate Crimes Prevention Act operates as 
intended, strengthening Federal jurisdiction over hate crimes as a 
back-up, but not a substitute, for state and local law enforcement.
  The Hate Crimes Prevention Act gives us a formidable tool for 
combating acts of violence motivated by race, color, national origin, 
religion, sexual orientation, gender, or disability. I urge its speedy 
passage into law.

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