[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 96 (Wednesday, June 24, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S6969]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Hate Crimes Legislation

  Madam President, I next wish to talk about the urgent need to pass 
the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. We passed this 
2 years ago, and unfortunately we were unable to reconcile it with the 
other body.
  In the last 2 years, we have had constant reminders of the need to 
pass this legislation. Just this past June 15, Steven Johns, a security 
guard at the U.S. Holocaust Museum, lost his life to a person who was 
deranged but who also was acting under hate. On February 12, 2008, 
Lawrence King, a 15-year-old student, lost his life because he was gay. 
On election night, we saw two men go on a killing spree against African 
Americans because America elected its first African-American President. 
In July of last year, four teenagers killed a Mexican immigrant and 
used racial slurs, making it clear it was a hate crime. In 2007, there 
were 7,600 reported hate crimes in America--150 in my own State of 
Maryland. So we need to do something about this. The trends have not 
been positive. They have been negative. Crimes against Latinos, based 
upon hate, have increased steadily since 2003. In 2007, we saw the 
highest number of hate crimes against lesbians, gays, bisexual and 
transgendered, up 6 percent from the year before. The number of 
supremacist groups in America has increased dramatically. There has 
been an increase in anti-Semitism between 2006 and 2007. The list goes 
on and on.
  My point is this: We are seeing a troubling trend in America, with 
increased violence caused by hate-type activities. We need to act. The 
Federal Government needs to act. The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes 
Prevention Act of 2009 will do just that. It expands the current hate 
crimes legislation we have on the Federal books so that it covers not 
just protected Federal activities but all activities in which a hate 
crime is perpetrated, and it extends the protections against hate 
crimes generated by gender, disability, gender identity, and sexual 
orientation. It will supplement what the States are doing. Many States 
are aggressively pursuing these matters. In fact, 45 States and the 
District of Columbia have passed their own hate crimes statute, and 31 
include sexual orientation as a protected right.
  The reason we need the Federal law is that the Federal Government has 
the resources and the capacity to respond when many times the States 
cannot. And I want to make it clear that this bill fully protects first 
amendment rights. This protection is against violent acts, not against 
speech. Hate crimes not only affect the victim, but they affect the 
entire community. It is time for us to act, and I hope we will soon 
pass the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009.