[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 75 (Tuesday, May 20, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6698-S6699]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 2003

  Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about the need for 
hate crimes legislation. On May 1, 2003, Senator Kennedy and I 
introduced the

[[Page S6699]]

Local Law Enforcement Act, a bill that would add new categories to 
current hate crimes law, sending signal that violence of any kind is 
unacceptable in our society.
  I would like to describe a terrible crime that occurred in Humboldt, 
Nebraska. Brandon Teena, 21, was brutally raped, beaten, and killed by 
two ``friends.'' Teena, who had been living as a man, befriended John 
Lotter and Tom Nissen when she moved to Humboldt. After a local 
newspaper revealed Teena's true identity as anatomically female, Lotter 
and Nissen became enraged. On Christmas Day 1993, the pair beat and 
raped Teena. A week later the men stabbed and shot Teena to death.
  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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