[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 87 (Thursday, June 11, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H6543]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              THE NEED FOR PASSING HATE CRIMES LEGISLATION

  (Mr. COHEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, like Representative Jackson-Lee before me, 
I was shocked at hearing of the shooting at the Holocaust Museum 
yesterday. Indeed, it is a place of special reverence and a place where 
you wouldn't think violence would occur, but deranged minds do deranged 
things, and the man who did the shooting had a history of hate towards 
African Americans and toward Jews and toward our government, it 
appears, even though he served in our Armed Forces.
  It reminds me of the need for passing hate crimes legislation because 
hate today still exists in people's hearts, and when people hate any 
group, they generally hate all different minorities. They don't 
understand the America of tolerance and inclusion that we celebrate and 
upon which we were founded.
  It also reminds me of the need to have a COPS bill passed to have 
more protection, and the cops that were approved in the ARRA protect 
our society from these types of attacks.
  Yesterday there was to be a play debuted at the Holocaust Museum by 
Janet Langhart Cohen, wife of former Secretary of Defense Bill Cohen, 
about an imaginary conversation between Emmett Till and Anne Frank. It 
will debut on Friday at George Washington University and talk about 
tolerance and peace and the results of hate.

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