[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 144 (Wednesday, September 26, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S12134]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              HATE CRIMES

  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I rise this evening in support of the 
Kennedy amendment, the hate crimes amendment. Our Nation's strength 
lies in its diversity, its tolerance, its respect for the individual. 
Hate crimes borne of prejudice and ignorance, of fear and cowardice, 
contravene these core principles which our Nation for more than two 
centuries has held dear. They are perpetuated by individuals who fear, 
in some sense, individuality. Terrorism is a hate crime.
  The amendment offered by my colleague, Mr. Kennedy, ensures that hate 
crimes be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. 
It enables Federal investigations of what are clearly Federal crimes. 
Hate crimes target individuals because they are part of a community. In 
the national community, all of us have a stake in fighting back against 
these crimes.
  My colleague's amendment sends a strong message. The message is this: 
Our Nation will not turn the other way when individuals try to divide 
us. We will not tread softly when individuals use violence to 
perpetuate hatred. We will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law 
crimes that reflect a vicious disregard for individual rights and our 
Nation's core central values.
  Our Nation is a community of people who care about one another. Hate 
crimes destroy our cohesiveness and our mutual respect and replace 
those values with paranoia, with divisiveness, and with destruction. 
Hate crimes weaken our Nation. This amendment strengthens it.
  I urge my colleagues to support the amendment.

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