[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 18]
[Senate]
[Pages 25641-25642]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 25641]]

                              HATE CRIMES

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, violent acts of bigotry based on race, 
religion, ethnic background, sexual orientation, gender, and disability 
continue to plague the nation. These vicious crimes are a national 
disgrace and an attack on everything this country stands for, and it is 
essential for Congress to act against them.
  Earlier this year, the Senate added important provisions to combat 
hate crimes to the Commerce-Justice-State Appropriations Act. This 
afternoon, Senate-House conferees will meet to vote on a conference 
report that does not contain the hate crimes provision. Behind closed 
doors, the conferees have tentatively decided to drop the provision, 
and I urge them to reconsider. It is essential for Congress to take a 
stand against bigotry, and do all we can to end these modern-day 
lynchings that continue to occur in communities across the country.
  Many of us are aware of the most highly-publicized incidents, 
especially the brutal murders of James Byrd in Jasper, Texas, and 
Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming. But these two killings are just 
the tip of the iceberg. Many other gruesome acts of hatred have 
occurred this year:
  January 14, 1999, El Dorado, California--Thomas Gary, 38, died after 
being run over by a truck and shot with a shotgun. The assailant 
claimed that Mr. Gary had made a pass at him.
  January 17, 1999, Texas City, Texas--Two black gay men, Laaron Morris 
and Kevin Tryals, were shot to death and one of the men was left inside 
a burning car.
  February 7, 1999, Miami, Florida--Three young women stalked, beat and 
stabbed a gay man while yelling anti-gay epithets.
  February 19, 1999, Sylacauga, Alabama--Billy Jack Gaither, a gay man, 
was abducted, beaten to death with an ax handle, and set on fire on 
burning tires in a remote area.
  February 24, 1999, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.--A black woman, Jody-Gaye 
Bailey, died after being shot in the head by a self-proclaimed 
skinhead. Minutes before the shooting the perpetrator reportedly 
boasted of wanting to go out and kill a black person. Bailey and her 
boyfriend, who is Caucasian, were stopped at a red light when the 
killer fired at Bailey seven times. The boyfriend was uninjured.
  February 1999, Yosemite National Park, California--An individual 
charged with the murder of four women--one of whom was a 16-year old 
girl--in Yosemite National Park told police investigators that he had 
fantasized about killing women for three decades.
  March 1, 1999, Richmond, Virginia--A gay, homeless man was killed and 
his severed head was left atop a footbridge in James River Park near a 
popular meeting place for gay men.
  May 1999, Kenosha, Wisconsin--A 27-year-old man intentionally swerved 
his car onto a sidewalk to run over two African-American teens. After 
hitting the two cyclists, he left the scene and kept driving until 
stopped by police. Eight years earlier the same man rammed his car 
twice into a stopped van carrying five African-American men and drove 
away.
  June 2, 1999, West Palm Beach, Florida--Two teenagers admitted that 
they beat a gay man, Steven Goedereis, to death on April 27, 1998 
because he called one of them ``beautiful.''
  June/July 1, 1999, Northern California--Three synagogues in the 
Sacramento area were destroyed by arson. Two brothers, who have links 
to an organized hate group, are suspects in the arson as well as the 
shotgun murders of two gay men in Redding, Calif., Winfield Scott 
Mowder and Gary Matson.
  July 4th weekend, 1999, Illinois/Indiana--An indiviudal associated 
with a racist and anti-Semitic organization, Benjamin Smith, killed an 
African-American man, Ricky Byrdsong, and wounded six orthodox Jews in 
Chicago before killing a Korean student, Won-Joon Yoon, in Bloomington, 
Ind.
  July 24, 1999, San Diego, California--Hundreds of people were tear-
gassed when a military style tear-gas canister was released near the 
Family Matters group at the San Diego gay pride parade. The 70-person 
group included small children and babies in strollers.
  August 10, 1999, Los Angeles, California--A former security guard for 
a white supremacist organization, Buford O. Furrow, wounded five 
individuals, including young children, at a Los Angeles Jewish 
community center, and later killed a Filipino-American postal worker, 
Joseph Illeto.
  Clearly, the federal government should be doing more to halt these 
vicious crimes that shock the conscience of the nation.
  Dropping the bipartisan Senate provisions from the DJS conference 
report is a serious mistake. For too long, the federal government has 
been forced to fight hate crimes with one hand tied behind its back. 
Congress must speak with a united voice against hate-based violence. 
All Americans deserve to know that the full force of federal law will 
be available to punish these atrocities.
  Congress has a responsibility to act this year. The continuing 
silence of Congress on this festering issue is deafening, and it is 
unacceptable. We must stop acting as if somehow this fundamental issue 
is just a state and local problem. It isn't. It's a national problem, 
and it's an outrage that Congress has been missing in action for so 
long. I urge the conferees to reconsider their action, and include a 
strong provision on hate crimes in the conference report.
  Mr. President, I make these remarks because the timeliness of them is 
so important. I see my friend and colleague from Oregon, who shares 
these concerns. Again, we wanted to address this issue, which will be 
before the conference committee on the State-Justice appropriations 
this afternoon. We will be faced with this issue in a conference report 
in these next 2, 3 days. It is regarding the inclusion or exclusion of 
the hate crimes legislation.
  We passed hate crimes legislation as part of the State-Justice-
Commerce appropriations. It is in conference at a time when this 
country has been faced with a series of acts that have been violent on 
the basis of bigotry--based on race, religion, ethnic background, 
sexual orientation, gender, and disability. These challenges continue 
to plague the Nation. These vicious crimes are a national disgrace and 
an attack on everything for which this country stands. It is essential 
for Congress to act against them.
  Just in the very recent times, we have seen the brutal murders of 
James Byrd in Jasper, TX, and Matthew Shepherd in Wyoming. These two 
killings are the tip of the iceberg. Many other gruesome acts of hatred 
have occurred this year.
  On January 14, Thomas Gary died after being run over by a truck and 
shot with a shotgun. The assailant claimed that Mr. Gary had made a 
pass at him.
  On January 17, 1999, Texas City, TX, two black gay men, Laaron Morris 
and Kevin Tryals, were shot to death, and one of the men was left 
inside a burning car.
  On February 7, 1999, three young women, stalked, beat, and stabbed a 
gay man while yelling antigay epithets.
  On February 24, in Fort Lauderdale, a black woman, Jody-Gaye Bailey, 
died after being shot in the head by a self-proclaimed skinhead. 
Minutes before the shooting, the perpetrator reportedly boasted of 
wanting to go out and kill a black person.
  In February 1999, Yosemite National Park, California, an individual 
charged with the murder of four women--one of whom was a 16-year-old 
girl--in Yosemite National Park, told police investigators that he had 
fantasized about killing women for three decades.
  The list goes on and on, and that is happening in communities all 
across the country. This legislation has been taken into consideration. 
A number of the points have been raised by Members over the last 3, 4 
years. The statistics are very clear. This kind of problem is 
escalating, not decreasing. All we are asking is, in the very selected 
cases that would qualify under this legislation, that we not deny the 
Federal Government from participating with the State and local 
prosecutors in order to be able to solve these problems. These crimes 
are not just crimes against individuals, they are rooted in bigotry and 
hatred so deep that they have an important and dramatic and horrific 
affect upon a community.
  We will see the opportunity, hopefully, for that Commerce Committee

[[Page 25642]]

conference this afternoon to vote on these issues. We should at least 
have a vote on these matters and, hopefully, the Commerce Committee 
will not disappoint America's march toward justice.
  Mr. WYDEN. Will the Senator yield for a question?
  Mr. KENNEDY. Yes, I am happy to.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I think the distinguished Senator has made 
a very eloquent statement on this matter of hate crimes. As we have 
seen so often on these issues of justice for gay folks, and when we are 
talking about issues relating to race, the issue always is brought out 
that in some way we are advocating ``special rights,'' or 
``preferences,'' or something of this nature. I think what the Senator 
from Massachusetts is asking for--and perhaps he can speak to this--is 
simply to make it clear the U.S. Congress is going to draw a line in 
the sand against violence borne out of bigotry and prejudice.
  We are not talking about special rights. We are not talking about 
preferences for one group because of their sexual orientation or race; 
we are talking about Americans' right to be free from violence borne 
out of prejudice and hatred. Is that what the Senator from 
Massachusetts is talking about?
  Mr. KENNEDY. The Senator has stated it well and accurately. These 
kinds of crimes, as I mentioned very briefly, rip at the heart and soul 
of all Americans. No one could read about these extraordinary acts of 
violence directed toward specified groups, such as those that took 
place in Yosemite, where that individual had in his mind one purpose 
and one purpose only, and that was to kill women. That was it. It 
wasn't against someone with whom he had a difference. That is the kind 
of vicious intent we have seen. We have seen that regarding race, 
religion, and sexual orientation.
  All we are saying is, in the prosecution of those crimes, we are not 
going to fight it with one hand behind our backs. We are not going to 
deny it in the very selective numbers that will be in--I think you are 
looking at each group, and there are something like maybe 20, 30 cases 
a year--probably even less--in the testimony of those who represent the 
Justice Department in any of these areas. But they are so vicious and 
so horrific that we are going to say we are not going to permit that to 
take place in this country.
  We have the opportunity to make a positive commitment in that area in 
our conference before we leave this year, and we don't want to lose 
that opportunity. The Senator from Oregon has been a leader on this 
issue, and our friend and colleague from New York, Senator Schumer, and 
Senator Specter have been strong leaders. This has been a bipartisan 
effort for a long period of time. We don't want to deny the chance of 
having success.
  Mr. WYDEN. Will the Senator yield for one last point?
  Mr. KENNEDY. Yes, I am happy to.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I think what the Senator from Massachusetts 
said is very important for our colleagues to focus on as we go to this 
conference, which I think will be starting in a few minutes.
  My understanding is that the bipartisan proposal of the Senator from 
Massachusetts and Senator Specter does not, in any way, preempt State 
and local authority in this area. My understanding is that it is only 
if and when State and local authorities don't act against these morally 
repugnant crimes that the Senator from Massachusetts has described--
that only then would the Federal Government come in. I will say, from 
my standpoint, what the Senator from Massachusetts is talking about 
certainly meets my definition of what ought to constitute compassionate 
conservatism.
  I am very pleased that my colleague from Oregon, Senator Smith, has 
joined with Senator Specter and others on the other side of the aisle. 
I so appreciate the leadership of the Senator from Massachusetts. I 
want him to know that I plan to stand shoulder to shoulder with him 
until we get this law passed. This is unacceptable. It is grotesque 
that this Congress would not take up this issue, and we cannot allow 
this issue to be ducked any further.
  I thank my friend for yielding.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, one of the most significant amendments that 
the Senate adopted as part of the Commerce-Justice-State appropriations 
bill is the Hate Crimes Prevention Act. This legislation amends the 
federal hate crimes statute to make it easier for federal law 
enforcement officials to investigate and prosecute cases of racial and 
religious violence. It also focuses the attention and resources of the 
Federal Government on the problem of hate crimes committed against 
people because of their sexual orientation, gender, or disability. I 
commend Senator Kennedy for his leadership on this bill, and I am proud 
to have been an original cosponsor.
  It is time to pass this important legislation. It has been over a 
year since the fatal beating of Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming, 
and the dragging death of James Byrd in Jaspar, Texas--brutal attacks 
that stunned the Nation.
  Since those incidents, we have seen other acts of violence motivated 
by hate and bigotry, including the horrific incident two months ago in 
Los Angeles, when a gunman burst into a Jewish community center and 
opened fire on a room full of young children. When the gunman 
surrendered, he said that his rampage had been motivated by his hatred 
of Jews. The month before, a murderous string of drive-by shootings in 
Illinois and Indiana left two people dead and nine wounded. Again, the 
motivation was racial and religious hate.
  These are sensational crimes, the ones that focus public attention. 
But there also is a toll we are paying each year in other hate crimes 
that find less notoriety, but with no less suffering for the victims 
and their families.
  All Americans have the right to live, travel and gather where they 
choose. In the past we have responded as a nation to deter and to 
punish violent denials of civil rights. We have enacted federal laws to 
protect the civil rights of all of our citizens for more than 100 
years. The Hate Crimes Prevention Act continues that great and 
honorable tradition.
  When the Senate passed the Commerce-State-Justice appropriations bill 
last month, there seemed to be general agreement about the need to 
strengthen our national hate crimes laws. Both the Hate Crimes 
Prevention Act and a more limited hate crimes bill sponsored by Senator 
Hatch were included in the managers' amendment by unanimous consent. 
These bills complement and do not conflict with each other, and Senator 
Kennedy and I have been working hard to address Senator Hatch's 
concerns about our legislation.
  I had hoped that a consensus provision would be worked out in time 
for us to report as part of this appropriations bill, and I am 
disappointed that we have been unable to meet this deadline.
  Five months ago, Matthew Shepard's mother testified before the Senate 
Judiciary Committee and called upon Congress to pass the Hate Crimes 
Prevention Act without delay. Let me echo her eloquent words:

       Today, we have it within our power to send a very different 
     message than the one received by the people who killed my 
     son. It is time to stop living in denial and to address a 
     real problem that is destroying families like mine, James 
     Byrd Jr.'s, Billy Jack Gaither's and many others across 
     America. . . . We need to decide what kind of nation we want 
     to be. One that treats all people with dignity and respect, 
     or one that allows some people and their family members to be 
     marginalized.

  There are still a few weeks left in this session; we should pass the 
Hate Crimes Prevention Act this year.

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