[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 13 (Tuesday, February 7, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S767]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2005

  Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about the need for 
hate crimes legislation. Each Congress, Senator Kennedy and I introduce 
hate crimes legislation that would add new categories to current hate 
crimes law, sending a signal that violence of any kind is unacceptable 
in our society. Likewise, each Congress I have come to the floor to 
highlight a separate hate crime that has occurred in our country.
  In February, 2004 in Durham, NC, Sean Ethan Owen, a 23-year-old gay 
man, was shot to death. According to police, three men wanted to steal 
a car and targeted Owen on a gay chat line. They then coaxed Owen to 
meet them for a date, then beat him, shot him, and threw him into the 
Eno River.
  Matthew Lawrence Taylor, Shelton Deangelo Epps, and Derrick Arness 
Maiden beat their victim before attempting to rob him of anything. 
According to pathologists, Owen probably died relatively slowly by 
drowning in the river.
  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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