[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 56 (Monday, April 30, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S4036]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 2001

  Mr. SMITH of Oregon. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about hate 
crimes legislation I introduced with Senator Kennedy last month. The 
Local Law Enforcement Act of 2001 would add new categories to current 
hate crimes legislation sending a signal that violence of any kind is 
unacceptable in our society.
  Today, I would like to detail a heinous crime that occurred July 4, 
2000 in Grant Town, WV. Arthur ``J.R.'' Carl Warren Jr., 26, an openly 
gay African American man, was brutally murdered. Warren, whose body was 
found on the edge of his hometown, was allegedly killed by two 17-year-
old boys. Known to call Warren names considered racial epithets and 
anti-gay slurs, the boys allegedly beat him and repeatedly kicked him 
with steel-toed boots. They threw him in a car and drove across town, 
ignoring his pleas to be taken home, which they passed on the way to 
the gravel pullout where they savagely kicked him and then ultimately 
killed him by driving back and forth over him. Neither current federal 
law nor West Virginia's hate crimes law include sexual orientation.
  Mr. President, I believe that government's first duty is to defend 
its citizens--to defend them against the harms that come out of hate. 
The Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act of 2001 is now a symbol that 
can become substance. I believe that by passing this legislation, we 
can change hearts and minds as well.

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