[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 16336-16337]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



  HATE CRIMES; INCOME TAX SYSTEM; AND INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ACTIVISM 
                                ALLIANCE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BERNARD SANDERS

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 15, 1999

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, I submit for the Record statements by high 
school students from my home State of Vermont, who were speaking at my 
recent town meeting on issues facing young people today. I am asking

[[Page 16337]]

that you please insert these statements in the Congressional Record as 
I believe that the views of these young persons will benefit my 
colleagues.

                              Hate Crimes

   (On behalf of Ryan Creedon, Jeff Davis, Demere Kasper, and Jesse 
                                McCall)

       Ryan Creedon: Hate crimes have been prevalent in America's 
     history since its conception. A hate crime has been legally 
     defined by Congress in the Violent Crimes and Law Enforcement 
     Act in 1994 as a crime in which the defendant intentionally 
     selects a victim, in the case of property crime, property 
     that is the object of a crime because of the actual or 
     perceived race, color, national origin, ethnicity, gender, 
     disability or sexual orientation of any person.
       The Violent Crimes and Law Enforcement Act does not serve 
     as the nation's hate crime law. The law that does act as the 
     nation's hate crime law does not include crimes that are 
     gender- and sexually-orientated and motivated.
       Currently, it is being debated whether or not a hate crime 
     should be separated from what would usually be a crime. Take 
     for example the unfortunate suffering Matthew Shepard was 
     subject to in Wyoming. Shepard, a homosexual man, was tied to 
     a fence and assaulted numerous times with the butt end of a 
     pistol by two men because of his sexual orientation. Should 
     the two men be convicted of murder alone, or should they be 
     charged for a hate crime as well?
       Jeff Davis: In this case, it is not logical to take the 
     time, energy or money to further try the subjects. They will 
     spend the rest of their lives in jail. However, it does make 
     sense to further punish less severe crimes that are committed 
     by the aggressor because of the subject's race, ethnicity, 
     religion, sexual orientation or gender.
       In these circumstances, you can look at the case of Re 
     Beaver St. Paul, 1992. The defendant, along with other 
     juvenile delinquents, built a cross by taping together pieces 
     of wood and burning it in a nearby neighbor's yard. The 
     teenagers were punished under the St. Paul bias-motivated 
     crime ordinance, which prohibits the placement of racial 
     symbols on public property. The balancing test guarantees the 
     rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness better 
     than any other legislation to date, and sets forth a division 
     line between what is personally offensive and what is free 
     expression.
       Demere Kasper: The balancing test weighs the importance of 
     one's rights to express themselves against another's rights 
     to live comfortably. This test is used in many cases. For 
     example, the state of Kansas responds to the actions of 
     Reverend Fred Phelps, the antihomosexual activist. Phelps, 
     along with protesters, verbally directed antigay slander 
     towards those of a homosexual AIDS victim. The Kansas 
     legislature voted that Phelps' actions were immoral, and 
     passed a ban which prohibited such acts, citing a balancing 
     test as the reasoning.
       When delivering biased beliefs, the line should be drawn 
     when one begins to attack (inaudible). This insures that the 
     freedom of free expression is still protected. The case of 
     Comver versus Smith in 1949 proves this. When the Nazi party 
     wanted to march through a predominantly Jewish town of 
     Skokie, Illinois, they were denied a permit to march by civil 
     courts. The Supreme Court cited the balancing test and 
     overruled the decisions of the lower courts, which indicated 
     that the denial was fair and just.
       Jess McCall: Currently, in the Vermont state legislature, 
     they are trying to pass a bill that would allow the victims 
     of bias-motivated crimes to obtain a court order similar to 
     abuse-prevention orders, prohibiting their attackers from 
     further harassment.
       To guarantee freedom of speech and the security of 
     minorities, one's rights to freedom of speech must be 
     outweighed when that speech is intended to harm an individual 
     because of their minority status. Legislation must be passed 
     to significantly increase punishment to those who violate 
     this test. However, this must only be applied when trying a 
     crime that does not already include a life sentence. While it 
     is important to protect our nation's freedom of speech, it is 
     more important to protect the individuals of our nation from 
     racial, gender, ethnic, sexual-orientation, or religious-
     based slander.


     
                                  ____
                           Income Tax System

                (On behalf of Erin Gray and Sara Voight)

       Sara Voight: The problem with the current tax system is it 
     is complex, unfair, inhibits savings, and imposes a heavy 
     burden on families. It cannot be replaced by a little change; 
     it must be completely replaced.
       The U.S. income tax code is a burden and a waste. The IRS 
     publishes 480 tax forms, and 280 forms to explain the 480 tax 
     forms. Annually, the IRS sends out 8 million pages of tax 
     forms. If you were to lay these out end to end, they would 
     circle the earth 28 times. This amount of paper is wasteful 
     and would be better used for other things.
       The main reason the tax code is so complex is the 
     deductions, credits and other special preferences in the tax 
     law. Because of all these loopholes, Americans with very 
     similar incomes can pay vast differences in the amount of 
     taxes. The progressive tax is complicated, but it has the 
     right idea about giving a separate percentage to each income 
     bracket.
       Erin Gray: An example of a flat-tax solution was introduced 
     by Congressman Dick Armey and Senator Richard Shelby. The 
     Armey-Shelby flat tax scraps the entire tax code and replaces 
     it with a flat-rate income tax. The flat rate would be phased 
     in over a three-year period, with a 19-percent rate for the 
     first two years and a 17-percent rate for later years.
       Individuals and businesses would pay the same rate. This 
     particular plan eliminates all deductions. The only income 
     that is not taxed is a generous personal exemption that every 
     American would receive. For a family of four, the first 
     $35,000 in income are not taxed. No loopholes, no checks; 
     just a simple plan that treats everybody in America the same.
       Sara Voight: Both plans have their positive sides. The flat 
     tax has its simplicity, but it also makes it unfair for 
     people with largely different incomes. The progressive tax, 
     which we have now, has the right idea, but all the loopholes 
     and deductions make it unfair. But if you were to combine 
     both plans, and make a progressive flat tax, you will have a 
     tax system that is simple, fair, and works for everyone.
       Congressman Sanders: Thank you for dealing with an issue 
     that receives a great deal of attention and debate, and 
     people have great differences of opinion on it.


     
                                  ____
                International Student Activism Alliance

        (On behalf of Jess Field, Claire Bove, and Tara Quesnel)

       Tara Quesnel: The International Student Activism Alliance 
     was formed almost three years ago by a group of high school 
     students in Connecticut. Since then, it has grown to include 
     over 1,200 members, with at least one chapter in each of the 
     50 states. The ISAA strives to empower students and give them 
     a voice in issues that concern them.
       Past and present ISSA issues include censorship of student 
     publications, community curfews, and getting students with 
     voting rights on state boards of education.
       Claire Bove: The ISAA is different from any activism 
     organizations and extracurricular opportunities open to 
     students. First, it is entirely student-run. The power 
     structure consists of a national chair, the official head of 
     the organization, and a cochair in each state. The national 
     chair is assisted by an executive board. Members of the board 
     include the newsletter editor, the national technology 
     fundraising and recruiting directors, and the national 
     coordinators. At the chapter level, there are chapter 
     representatives. All these positions are filled by high 
     school students.
       The second thing that differentiates the ISAA from any 
     other organization is the freedom individual chapters have. 
     Chapter members organize around issues that are important to 
     them. The issues are not partisan, they're student. 
     Additionally, there is no action required of any member.
       Jess Field: I believe that organizations like the ISAA are 
     very important. As Congressman Sanders said earlier, voter 
     turnout in our country is incredibly law. We need to find 
     ways to allow young people to become more involved and 
     interested in the government. Opportunities like becoming 
     active in organizations like ISAA should not be passed up.
       The experience goes well beyond the actual activism. 
     Organizations like this teach youth self-confidence and self-
     respect as well as giving us a sense of what power we 
     actually hold in a democracy like this one.
       Our government needs to endorse positive civic involvement 
     with youth. This could be accomplished with grants toward 
     student organizations like the ISAA. Forums like this one are 
     also very effective ways of allowing students to speak out 
     and have their voices heard. If any members of the audience 
     are interested in becoming more involved with the ISAA, they 
     should find me afterward.
       Congressman Sanders: Thank you very much for an excellent 
     presentation on an important issue.

     

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