[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 100 (Wednesday, July 9, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S9115]
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 series of terrible crimes that occurred in 
Ashton, MD. During September 2001, an Arab-American homemaker was 
attacked and her property vandalized by a female neighbor. The neighbor 
spread feces across the Arab Americans' porch three times, pelted the 
home with dead plants, and doused the woman with liquid. The neighbor 
doused the Arab-American woman a second time, this time with bleach, 
which burned the victim's skin and discolored her clothes.
  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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