[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 79 (Wednesday, June 21, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5550-S5551]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HATE CRIMES PREVENTION ACT

  Mr. L. CHAFEE. Mr. President, yesterday the Senate debated an issue 
of critical importance--preventing hate crimes. Hate crimes are attacks 
on our very culture. What makes the United States different from places 
such as the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, or the Middle East, 
civilizations which are torn apart by prejudice and hatred, is our 
acceptance of diversity. The image of the United States as a melting 
pot, where diversity flourishes, is shattered by news stories of hate 
related violence. Hate crimes are crimes of intimidation and violence, 
in which a person's civil rights are threatened because of prejudice.
  The Hate Crimes Prevention Act, of which I am proud to be a 
cosponsor, does not create a new law, nor does it federalize more 
crimes. Rather, it clarifies a law that has been on the books for over 
thirty years. Federal hate crimes protections were established as part 
of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. The law sets up a backstop for states 
that cannot adequately prosecute these hate-based crimes. However, the 
current law's strict dual intent requirement that the defendant acted 
because of the victim's race, religion, or ethnicity and because the 
victim was enjoying or exercising a federally protected right, such as 
voting or attending public school, is far too constricting. Even the 
heinous dragging death of James Byrd, Jr. in Jasper, Texas did not 
qualify under current law as a federal hate crime. Never since the 
statute was enacted have there been more than 10 prosecutions for hate 
crimes in a year.
  The Smith-Kennedy amendment has two major components. First, it 
expands individuals covered by hate crimes to include sexual 
orientation, gender, and disability. Second, it eliminates constraints 
that make the current law ineffective. The federal government, with the 
approval of a state's Attorney General, would be empowered to prosecute 
crimes that cause death or bodily injury ``because of the actual or 
perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, 
gender, or disability'' of the victim. According to FBI statistics, in 
1996, almost two-thirds of the reported hate crimes were due to race, 
while 12% were based on sexual orientation. It is important that 
protection from hate crimes be extended to all of America's citizens.

[[Page S5551]]

  The Supreme Court has already signaled the constitutionality of hate 
crime statutes. In Wisconsin v. Mitchell, the Supreme Court unanimously 
upheld the constitutional right of states to enact hate crimes 
statutes. I believe that it is now time for Congress to act.
  Mr. President, I cosponsored the Hate Crimes Prevention Act because 
it was the right thing to do. The issue here is civil rights, and as a 
nation we went a long way in the last century toward assuring that the 
civil rights of ALL Americans were not infringed upon. Let's start this 
new century with another step in the right direction.

                          ____________________