[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 33 (Monday, March 3, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S3024]
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 January 5, 
2002 in Tacoma, WA. Three gay men were attacked and another woman shot 
in a nightclub parking lot. When the three men walked to the nightclub 
parking lot, they were confronted by two or three other men in a truck 
who asked ``Are you gay? Are you gay?'' The men in the truck said that 
it was a ``straight parking lot'' and demanded that the gay men leave. 
The men in the truck then approached the victims and began beating 
them. A woman and her husband came to the aid of the victims, and the 
assailants shot the woman once in the chest. The bullet traveled 
through her chest and lodged in her cheek. She was treated at a local 
hospital and was later released.
  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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