[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 60 (Tuesday, May 4, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S4827]
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 Enhancement 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.
  Christopher Hutcherson of Biloxi is accused of capital murder in the 
January stabbing death of John Brown Smith III, 39, of Fort Walton 
Beach, FL. A detective testified that Hutcherson told investigators 
that he stabbed Smith because the retired military man made sexual 
advances while holding a gun on him. The detective said Smith and 
Hutcherson were at an adult video arcade, known as a gay pick-up place, 
the morning of the killing. Hutcherson told investigators that he left 
the video store and went to Smith's nearby hotel room. The two men 
drank alcohol before leaving the hotel in Smith's pickup. Smith's body 
was later found on the rural road by a passerby.
  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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