[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 96 (Thursday, June 26, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S8712]
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 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 in New 
Bedford, MA. On June 22, 2003, Saurabh Bhalerao, a 24-year-old graduate 
student, was ambushed by four men and savagely beaten when the 
assailants mistook the student for a Muslim. Mr. Bhalerao, a Hindu 
Indian, works part-time as a pizza delivery man. One of the suspects 
placed a phone order at the local pizzeria where Mr. Bhalerao is 
employed. When Mr. Bhalerao arrived with the order, two men shoved him 
into the apartment and pushed him to the floor. After Mr. Bahlerao was 
lying on the floor, the attackers kicked and beat him. At one point, 
one suspect hit him with a kitchen chair. The perpetrators also burned 
Mr. Bhalerao's body with lit cigarettes. According to court documents, 
one of the attackers told Mr. Bhalerao to ``Go back to your own 
country.'' Mr. Bhalerao eventually escaped from the trunk of an 
assailant's car after he managed to loosen the fisherman's rope binding 
his hands and feet. He is currently in the intensive care unit at a 
local hospital.
  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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