[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 138 (Wednesday, October 13, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H9962]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HATE CRIMES PREVENTION ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Baldwin) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1082, the 
Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
  In August, the House Committee on the Judiciary, on which I sit, held 
a hearing on hate crimes. We heard testimony from Carole Carrington. I 
am sure my colleagues are familiar with her story.
  Her daughter, granddaughter, and a dear family friend were murdered 
in Yosemite National Park last February. The murderer was finally 
captured a few months later after brutally murdering another woman near 
Yosemite.
  Why did this man kill these four women? Because they were women. He 
claims to have fantasized about killing women for the last 30 years. He 
did not know any of his victims. He targeted them simply because they 
were women.
  Mr. Speaker, this great Nation was founded on the desire for freedom, 
freedom from oppression, freedom from religious persecution, freedom to 
participate as full citizens.
  Our Nation's founding principles revolve around the concept of 
individual liberties and the freedom to live our lives in a free and 
open society. We have long recognized that personal safety and security 
are essential for a person to exercise the rights and obligations of 
citizenship.
  Governments are created by men and women in part to protect and 
defend citizens from violence to ensure that they are able to exercise 
their personal liberties.
  Hate crimes are intended to intimidate the victim and to limit those 
freedoms. Hate crimes are designed by the perpetrators to create fear 
in the victim. The woman who was attacked on a dark street lives in 
fear of another attack. The African-American family that has a cross 
burned on their lawn remembers that threat far after the scorch marks 
on the grass have been washed away. The gay teenager who is beaten by 
classmates may never feel safe in school again.
  Hate crimes are meant to instill fear. And the fear that hate crimes 
instill is not simply targeted at the immediate victim. The fear is 
aimed at members of the group. Hate crimes are different than any other 
violent crime because they seek to terrorize an entire community, be it 
burning a cross in someone's yard, the burning of a synagogue, or a 
rash of gay bashings.
  This sort of domestic terrorism demands a strong Federal response 
because this country was founded on the premise that a person should be 
free to be who they are without fear of violence.
  A member of the other body, the Republican chairman of the Senate 
Committee on the Judiciary, said, ``A crime committed not just to harm 
an individual but out of a motive of sending a message of hatred to an 
entire community is appropriately punished more harshly, or in a 
different manner, than other crimes.''
  I do not know for sure what causes hate. I am sure the expert have 
some ideas. But fear of the unknown combined with stereotyping of 
groups that reinforces that fear probably has something to do with it.
  I know that hate crime legislation cannot cure the hate that still 
resides among some in our country, but this legislation can provide 
more protections for groups who are targeted and send an important 
message that Congress believes that hate crimes against any group are a 
serious national problem that deserves to be addressed.
  One year ago, a young University of Wyoming student, Matthew Shepard, 
was brutally murdered because he was gay. We all know the story. But 
Matthew's murder had a profound personal impact on me. It reminded me 
that I could be targeted simply because of who I am.
  It was at the height of my campaign when they found Matthew's body. 
The word spread quickly among my many university student volunteers, 
and I could see the hurt and fear in their eyes as they talked about 
what happened to this young university student, a person their age.
  A number of my volunteers were gay or lesbian and they were in shock. 
It affected so many of us profoundly and personally.
  Hate crimes are an attack on society, an attack on tolerance, an 
attack on freedom. This Congress ought to act swiftly to pass the Hate 
Crimes Prevention Act.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Foley).
  Mr. FOLEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I would 
like to associate myself with the words of the gentlewoman from 
Wisconsin for her leadership on this issue.
  Let me say directly to the American public, this is desperately 
needed legislation. We have in our climate today too much anti-
Semitism, too much racial hatred, too much homophobia, and people who 
are singled out based on those parameters are targeted by those that 
hate others because of who they are, because of their gender or 
orientation or color of skin.
  This should not be permissive in this society of ours as we enter the 
21st century, and we have to deal with this and we have to confront it 
and we have to educate our children because these crimes are 
devastating.
  We had a boy killed in our community recently in West Palm for the 
same motivation, because he was gay. We have heard crime after crime 
similar to these Matthew Shepard cases that are wrenching the heart and 
soul out of our country.
  So I applaud the gentlewoman for her leadership. I join my colleague 
in urging the Congress to adopt hate crime legislation to federalize 
these crimes. Because, again, these are not singular acts. These are 
acts by despicable people who seek out people based on race, gender, 
sexual orientation. They are mean-spirited and they must be dealt with 
with the full effect of the law so, hopefully, we can turn the tide on 
these crimes and get people to recognize that the punishment will be 
severe, it will be swift, and maybe they will think twice before they 
inflict their hatred on others.

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