[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 71 (Tuesday, May 22, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5430-S5431]
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.
  I would like to describe a heinous crime that occurred April 25, 2000 
in Germantown, MD. According to the victim, she and her partner and 
their 11-year-old daughter have been the victims of repeated anti-gay 
slurs. The victims have had rocks and other items thrown at their home 
because they are gay and some neighbors ``wanted us out of the 
neighborhood.'' The incident in question occurred after a verbal 
altercation between the victim's child and the perpetrator's child, 
culminating in the victim's attack by the perpetrator. When police 
arrived on the scene, the victim was lying on the ground; her hand was 
bleeding; she had been kicked

[[Page S5431]]

repeatedly in the head by the perpetrator and his 12-year-old son 
(while the son was allegedly yelling, ``I'm going to kill you, dyke b--
-h.''); her face was swollen; she had footprints on her shirt; and 
marks on her neck and chest which required overnight hospitalization. 
Despite this, the police did not handle the incident as a hate crime 
and said that it was against their regulations to arrest the 
perpetrator because they had not witnessed the attack.
  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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