[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 37 (Friday, March 7, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S3367]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page S3367]]
                   LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 2001

 Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, I 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 February 26, 
2003 in Charlottesville, VA. Daisy Lundy was assaulted on the 
University of Virginia campus by an unknown man. Lundy, a 19 year-old 
of African American and Korean descent, left a friend's room just 
before 2 a.m. to retrieve a cell phone. When she got to her car, the 
assailant, described only as a ``heavyset'' white man, attacked her, 
slamming her head into the steering wheel. The attacker referred to 
Lundy's candidacy for student council, and used a racial epithet during 
the assault.
  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.
  (At the request of Mr. Daschle, the following statement was ordered 
to be printed in the Record.)

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