[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 74 (Monday, May 7, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E971]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT HATE CRIMES PREVENTION ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 3, 2007

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of 
H.R. 1592, The Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
  This important legislation is about protecting the fundamental rights 
of the most vulnerable in our society.
  The fact is, hate toward people in our country who are deemed 
different remains copious and persistent.
  What is not fact, however, is the campaign of mistruths right-wing 
extremists with a megaphone have instigated against this bill. They 
claim, for instance, that passage of this bill will be used to 
persecute anti-gay churches. To which I say, I don't know of any pastor 
or minister who would advocate tying a man to a split-rail fence, 
beating him brutally, and leaving him to die in the cold of the night 
for no reason other than he was gay.
  This legislation addresses long overdue deficiencies in current 
federal hate crimes law. It extends protections to even more groups of 
targeted minorities. And it ensures that when states are unwilling or 
unable to prosecute hate crimes, justice will be served.
  Violent acts committed against a member of a targeted minority do not 
merely beleaguer the individual. They deprave an entire group and 
society as a whole by promoting a culture of fear among our diverse 
communities and perpetuating stereotypes and hate. I have hopes that 
someday such legislation will no longer be necessary. But the reality 
is that in this day and age it still is. It is evident in the 
resurgence of organized white supremacist movements such as the KKK 
over the past year.
  Without the passage of this critical legislation, an alarming amount 
of hate crime perpetrators around the country will continue to escape 
punishment under federal law. Such as the assailants who shot 
frequenters of a gay bar in New Bedford, Massachusetts earlier this 
year. And the four white male assailants who left Bill Ray, a mentally 
challenged African American, severely and errantly brain damaged. And 
the assailants of Michael Sandy, a gay man who was beaten, chased into 
traffic, hit by a car, and then dragged off the road and attacked a 
second time.
  Until the day comes when there is no need for such legislation, we 
will continue to have a moral obligation to ensure these victims of 
hate crimes have access to just recourse.

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