[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 81 (Tuesday, June 12, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6120-S6121]
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

[[Page S6121]]

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 horrific crime that occurred February 19, 
1999 in Sylacauga, AL. Billy Jack Gaither, 39, was abducted and 
brutally murdered in a remote area. Two men, who later claimed to be 
angry over an alleged sexual advance by Gaither, went to a secluded 
boat ramp to find him. They beat Gaither and threw him in the trunk of 
his own car. Gaither was then taken to the banks of Peckerwood Creek, 
where many area churches used to hold baptisms. The two men then beat 
the 39-year-old man to death with an ax handle, and later burned his 
body on a pyre of old tires.
  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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