[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 167 (Wednesday, December 5, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H8888]
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 Wisconsin (Ms. Baldwin) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge the House to pass H.R. 
1343, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Passage of 
hate crimes legislation is long overdue.
  As the House of Representatives fails to act, the list of victims of 
hate crimes grows every day. One such victim was murdered in Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin, last month on November 11. Juana Vega was shot repeatedly by 
her girlfriend's brother outside her girlfriend's family home. 
According to friends of the victim, the suspect made repeated threats, 
explicitly stating that he would kill the victim because of her sexual 
orientation.
  Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, this tragic situation repeats itself far 
too often in our country. We must act to address it now. It is 
unfortunate that hate crimes occur, but they do. It is irresponsible to 
deny that there are individuals who seek to commit violence against an 
individual because they may be gay, lesbian, a woman, or disabled, the 
people that we seek to protect with the passage of this legislation.
  It has been argued that we cannot see into a criminal's heart or 
mind, that we cannot determine their motive and intent, and therefore, 
cannot dole out appropriate justice. Yet, the most ancient concepts of 
justice still with us today consider the intent of those perpetrating a 
crime. Should we not consider the intent of a man or woman who kills or 
maims because of their hatred of an entire group, class, or race of 
people?
  A Member of the other body, the former chairman of the Senate 
Committee on the Judiciary, said last year, ``A crime committed not 
just to harm an individual but out of the motive of sending a message 
of hatred to an entire community is appropriately punished more harshly 
or in a different manner than other crimes.''
  Hate crimes are different than other violent crimes because they seek 
to instill fear in an entire community, be it burning a cross in 
someone's yard, the burning of a synagogue, or a rash of beatings of 
people in proximity to gay-identified establishments. This sort of 
domestic terrorism demands a strong Federal response because this 
country was founded on the premise that persons should be free to be 
who they are without the fear of violence.
  Mr. Speaker, this House needs to pass the Local Law Enforcement Hate 
Crimes Prevention Act as expeditiously as possible. We need to do 
everything that we can to prevent hate crimes like the murder of Juana 
Vega.

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