[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 12, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S2334]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 2001

  Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about the need for 
hate crimes legislation. In the last Congress Senator Kennedy and I 
introduced the Local Law Enforcement Act, a bill that would add new 
categories to current hate crimes law, sending a signal that violence 
of any kind is unacceptable in our society.
  I would like to describe a terrible crime that occurred November 24, 
2001, in Cincinnati, OH. Theodore Jenkins, 43, was savagely beaten and 
stabbed. Jenkins told police that he was attacked by five men who beat 
him with a nightstick and stabbed him four times in the back. The 
attackers used racial slurs during the beating, and police investigated 
the incident as a hate crime.
  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 is a symbol that can become substance. I 
believe that by passing this legislation and changing current law, we 
can change hearts and minds as well.

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