[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 157 (Tuesday, November 9, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S14400-S14401]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HATE CRIME VIOLENCE

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, a few weeks ago, I met with Alan 
Stepakoff, the father of six-year old Joshua, who was among five 
victims--three children ages 5 and 6; one 16-year old teenager and a 
68-year old adult--gunned down at a Los Angeles Jewish community center 
last August by Buford Furrow, Jr., a white supremacist. Fortunately, 
the son and the four other victims survived the shooting and are on 
their way to recovery. Unfortunately, within minutes of this tragic 
shooting, the Nation learned that the same assailant had murdered in 
cold blood U.S. Postal Service carrier Joseph Ileto, a Filipino 
American, on account of his race.
  This episode is but one of a growing list of hate crimes targeting 
places once believed to be safe havens--including schools, synagogues, 
churches, community centers. This incident is a grim reminder of how 
hate can provoke violence against the young and innocent. Unless we 
address this hatred and violence in our communities immediately and 
unequivocally, the list of such horrific events will certainly grow.
  We have before us legislation that would address this growing blight 
on our society: the Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 1999. This important 
legislation was introduced by my colleague Senator Kennedy and adopted 
by the Senate as part of Fiscal Year 2000 Commerce, Justice, State 
Appropriations Act.
  Unfortunately, the measure was stripped from the first Commerce, 
Justice, State appropriations bill presented to the President. I urge 
my colleagues to insist on this provision's inclusion in the next such 
bill.
  This legislation is urgently needed to compensate for two limitations 
in the current law. First, even in the most blatant cases of racial, 
ethnic, or religious violence, no federal jurisdiction exists unless 
the victim was targeted while exercising one of six federally protected 
activities--attending a public school or college; participating in a 
service or program sponsored by a state or local government; applying 
for or engaging in employment; serving as juror in a state court; 
traveling or using a facility of interstate commerce; and enjoying the 
goods or services of certain places of public accommodation.
  These limitations have led to acquittals in several of the cases in 
which the Department of Justice has determined a need to assert federal 
jurisdiction and has limited the ability of federal law enforcement 
officials to work with state and local officials in the investigation 
and prosecution of many incidents of brutal, hate-motivated violence.
  A second limitation in current law is that it provides no coverage 
whatsoever for violent hate crimes committed because of bias based on 
the victim's sexual orientation, gender or disability. As a result, 
federal authorities cannot prosecute individuals who commit violent 
crimes against others based on these characteristics. This is 
especially disturbing given the fact that according to the FBI, crimes 
against gays, lesbians and bisexuals ranked third in reported hate 
crimes in 1998, registering 1,260 or 15.6 percent of all reported 
incidents. Unfortunately, there are those who would stop short of 
supporting this important legislation because it extends protections to 
those targeted on account of their sexual orientation.
  The hate crimes legislation introduced this year would remedy would 
expand the legislation I authored in 1994, which provided a bifurcated 
trial and enhanced penalties for felonies spawned by hate that took 
place either on federal land or in pursuance of a federally protected 
right (such as voting or attending a public school).
  The Hate Crimes Protection Act broadens federal jurisdiction to cover 
all violent crimes motivated by racial or religious hatred, regardless 
of whether the victim was exercising a federally protected right. It 
would also include sexual orientation, gender and disability to the 
list of protected categories within current federal hate crime law, 
provided there is a sufficient connection with interstate commerce.
  At the same time, federal involvement would only come into play if 
the Attorney General certifies that federal prosecution is necessary to 
secure substantial justice. In recent years, the existing federal hate 
crimes law has been used only in carefully selected cases where the 
state criminal justice system did not achieve a just result.
  For many years I have been deeply concerned about hate crimes and the 
immeasurable impact they have on victims, their families and our 
communities. As I have previously mentioned, in 1993 I sponsored the 
Hate Crimes Sentencing Enhancement Act, which was signed into law in 
1994 as a part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 
1994. Today, I believe the Hate Crimes legislation will build on this 
effort by modifying the current laws to allow the federal government to 
provide the vital assistance to states in investigating of crimes of 
this magnitude.

  Sadly, hate crimes are becoming too commonplace in America. According 
to the U.S. Department of Justice, in 1998, 7,775 hate crime incidents 
were reported in the United States and 9,722 victims. Of that total, 
4,321 or 58 percent of the crimes were committed on account of the 
victim's race. More than 3,660 victims of anti-Black crimes; 1,003 
victims of anti-White crimes, 620 victims of anti-Hispanic crimes; and 
372 victims of anti-Asian/Pacific Islander crimes.
  In that same year, 1,390 or roughly 16.0 percent of the victims were 
targeted because of their religious affiliation. The number of anti-
Jewish incidents is second only to those against blacks and far exceeds 
offenses against all other religious groups combined. Moreover, while 
by most accounts anti-Semitism in America has declined dramatically 
over the years, the level of violence is escalating.
  Civil rights groups as well as federal and State authorities agree 
that in the last five years, reported hate crimes have increased 
annually, from 5,932 in 1994 to 7,755 in 1998. As of 1998, four States 
still do not collect hate crime data. Yet, even if all States were 
reporting these incidents, it would be difficult to gauge the true 
extent of the hate crime problem in this country because bias-motivated 
crimes typically are under reported by both law enforcement agencies 
and victims.
  And while these crimes have become more numerous, they have also 
become more violent. Monitoring groups have observed a shift from 
racially-motivated property crimes, such as spray painting, defacement 
and graffiti, to personal crimes such as assault, threat and 
harassment. On a national scale, according to FBI statistics, almost 7 
out of 10 hate crimes are directed against people. Nonhate crimes, by

[[Page S14401]]

contrast, are directed against people only 11 percent of the time.
  This legislation is long overdue. Looking back on this year alone, 
one might recall the litany of news stories describing a murderous 
rampage at a school in Littleton, Colorado; or the drive-by shooting 
attacks on Jews, an African-American, and Asian-Americans in Chicago, 
Illinois; or the two pipe-bomb explosions at the predominantly African 
American Florida A&M University; the brutal murders of two gay men in 
California; or the torching of synagogues in California; all despicable 
acts of virulent hatred.
  We should work to give our citizens protection from those who would 
do them harm simply based upon their race, religion, gender, 
disability, or sexual orientation. Enactment of the Hate Crimes 
Prevention Act would send a message to our nation and the world that 
the singling out of an individual based on any of these characteristics 
will not go unnoticed or unpunished.
  Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to enact this important 
legislation prior the end of this session.

                          ____________________