[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 113 (Monday, September 20, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S9379]
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.
  On July 16, a 32-year-old man in Austin, TX, went to Oilcan Harry's, 
a popular gay bar. Four men accompanied the man home when the bar 
closed, and once there, broke a glass over the victim's head. The four 
men then ripped off his clothes, beating and kicking him. They also 
tried choking him with a cord cut from his vacuum cleaner. The 
assailants allegedly forced the victim to sodomize himself with an 
object at knifepoint while they used homosexual slurs. After the 
attackers left, the police were called and the victim taken to a local 
hospital.
  I believe that the 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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