[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 33 (Wednesday, March 20, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H1078]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HATE CRIMES LEGISLATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Clayton) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey), who asked Members to appear 
in a Special Order in honor of the United Nations' International Day 
for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which takes place 
Thursday, March 21. I also want to thank my colleague, the gentleman 
from Michigan (Mr. Conyers), who introduced H.R. 1343, the Local Law 
Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2001.
  There is no place in our society for racism, whether in the form of 
religious and ethnic discrimination or otherwise. Throughout history, 
wars have been fought over these types of differences. Many lives have 
been lost and many people uprooted. As in the dark past, today we are 
still witnessing violence being perpetrated against others with 
perceived differences. This is something that must be not only rooted 
out abroad, but we must also root out the ethnic and religious 
intolerance that we witness in our daily lives right here in our own 
communities.
  Hate crimes, those committed against a group because of racial or 
religion or sexual orientation, is alive and well in America. Matthew 
Shepard and James Byrd are notable victims of these types of crimes; 
but there are many, many other victims as well of this type of crime, 
this cycle of violence. It has been stated that crimes based on race 
ranked number one of all the U.S. crimes reported in the FBI's ``Hate 
Crimes Statistics of 2000'' status report. The total number of all hate 
crimes across the Nation increased 3.5 percent from 1999 to 2000. These 
numbers reflect only the reported crimes. Many crimes continue to go 
unreported; and many States, because of budgetary reasons, do not keep 
tallies of crimes that would fall under this category.
  The bill introduced by the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) 
would provide Federal assistance to States and local jurisdictions so 
that they can more readily report and prosecute hate crimes. It must be 
understood that violence motivated by race, color, gender, sexual 
orientation, or disability will not be tolerated.
  It is important for Congress to show solidarity with those around the 
world honoring the United Nations' International Day for the 
Elimination of Racial Discrimination by showing that we are ready, 
willing and able to address hate-motivated crimes within our own 
borders, within our own Nation. Our country and the world is very 
diverse. It is our diversity that should make us stronger as a Nation, 
stronger as a world community. Until we eliminate racial, gender, 
religious, and other types of discrimination, our unity as a country 
and as a world community will be threatened.

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