[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 58 (Wednesday, May 2, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S4168]
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 June 1, 
2000, in Baltimore, MD. Gary William Mick, 25, pleaded guilty to first-
degree murder, attempted murder, and armed robbery after admitting that 
he murdered a gay man and tried to kill another because, he told 
police, he thought gay men were ``evil.'' In the first attack, a New 
Jersey man was bludgeoned to death with a claw hammer at the Admiral 
Fell Inn in Fells Point. Mick met his second victim, a dentist, at a 
bar, had dinner with him and went home with him. He later attacked him 
with a knife. The men struggled and the victim escaped. The perpetrator 
told police that a childhood incident caused him to hate homosexuals.
  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 by passing this legislation, we can change hearts 
and minds as well.

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