[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 167 (Wednesday, December 5, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H8884]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          THE LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT HATE CRIMES PREVENTION ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to encourage the Republican 
leadership to bring the bill offered by the gentleman from Michigan 
(Mr. Conyers), H.R. 1343, The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes 
Prevention Act, to the House floor. It is time to take action against 
crimes that are motivated by hate.
  I appreciate all of my colleagues that are coming here this evening 
that are going to take their time and to speak in support of H.R. 1343.
  In the past 3 months, crimes against Muslims, Arabs, Sikhs, Southeast 
Asians and anyone resembling these nationalities have increased 
significantly. The Council on Arab and Islamic Relations has compiled 
more than 1,400 reports of hate crimes since September 11. This 
represents a 51 percent increase in reported crimes against those of 
Middle Eastern descent since the attacks.
  Our children are watching in horror as they and their moms and their 
dads, their brothers, their sisters and close friends, are being 
harassed, spit on, beaten and, even worse, killed. These hate crimes 
are happening in their neighborhoods, at their schools, and their 
places of worship. This Congress does not want to stand by and let our 
children be subjected to this kind of hate. We cannot. We should not. 
The 107th Congress must recognize the problem at hand and must take 
effective measures to reverse this trend, and we can do that by 
bringing H.R. 1343 forward.
  The stories of these hate crime victims are disheartening. In 
Poughkeepsie, New York, a high school student was harassed and attacked 
while another student yelled ``I hate you, dirty Afghani,'' as he 
pelted him with rocks and plants.
  In Dumfries, Virginia, a mother and her son attacked two Afghani 
American brothers, age 16 and 17. During school the son and a group of 
his friends approached the two Afghani teenagers and began taunting and 
hitting them. The mother entered the fight and hit the 17-year-old 
youth in the head. Luckily, both boys escaped into a neighbor's home 
and luckily neither was seriously injured.
  In San Mateo, California, a gasoline bomb was thrown through the 
window of a Sikh family's home hitting a 3-year-old. Fortunately, the 
bomb failed to explode.
  These stories are both unbelievable and intolerable. But, sadly, 
these acts of hate are rampant, and people of Middle Eastern descent 
are not the only victims affected by ignorance and hate.
  Just a week ago, a hate crime occurred in my district. Three 
sophomores at a high school in my district assaulted a 17-year-old 
student because he was openly gay. The apparent leader of the assault 
paid two other boys $10 each to beat up the victim. Our children cannot 
be subjected to such violence and such hate.
  No one in America should live in fear because of his or her ethnic 
background, because of religious affiliation, because of gender, 
disability or sexual preference. This is especially true of our 
children.
  That is why it is important to pass meaningful hate crime 
legislation, and to pass it now. We need to strengthen our existing 
laws, and we must protect people against all hate crimes. We must send 
a message, especially to our children, that hateful behavior is wrong 
and it will not be tolerated.
  Our law enforcement officials need vigorous tools to fight and 
prosecute hate crimes. Yet existing Federal law is inadequate. That is 
why I am a strong supporter of the bill offered by the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Conyers), the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes 
Prevention Act.
  For the first time under Federal law, this measure would add sexual 
orientation, gender and disability. In addition, it would expand 
Federal civil rights law to allow prosecution of hate crimes even if no 
federally protected activities were involved, such as voting or 
attending school. Also the bill would expand the circumstances under 
which the Federal Government could offer assistance to State and local 
governments to help prosecute these crimes.
  Even though the bill is cosponsored by over 200 bipartisan Members, 
it has been cast aside. We must bring it to the floor, and we must pass 
it now.

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