[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 21846]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



  ANTI-GAY VIOLENCE IN VIRGINIA HIGHLIGHTS THE NEED FOR EXPANDED HATE 
                           CRIMES LEGISLATION

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 6, 2000

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I was extremely disappointed that the 
conference committee on the defense authorization legislation voted to 
drop the hate crimes provision from the bill. As president Clinton 
said, yesterday, dropping this provision is a serious error. The hate 
crimes provision had strong bipartisan support in both the House and 
Senate. This legislation simply provided that all persons should be 
treated the same under our nation's laws, and it is a principle that 
all of us here in the Congress should support.
  Mr. Speaker, a tragic incident just a few days ago in Roanoke, 
Virginia, has only served to highlight the need for this legislation. 
Ronald Edward Gay shot and killed Daniel Lee Overstreet simply because 
he was gay. Mr. Overstreet worked for Verizon network and was well 
liked by all who knew him. But he happened to be in a gay bar, when 
Ronald Edward Gay entered the bar and shot and killed him because, in 
Gay's words, he wanted to waste some ``faggots''. Like Matthew Shephard 
before him, Daniel Lee Overstreet was a victim of blind, impersonal 
hatred and bigotry.
  The brutal attack in Virginia and the rise in hate crimes based on 
sexual orientation shows the need for Congress to adopt comprehensive 
hate crimes legislation. If we fail to enact this legislation, more and 
more people will continue to suffer from hate crimes in our country. 
According to the FBI, hate crimes based on anti-gay violence increased 
14.3 percent from 1997 to 1998--even as the overall crime rate 
decreased. Hate crimes based on sexual orientation have nearly tripled 
since the FBI began collecting statistics in 1991, and in 1998 such 
crimes comprised 16 percent of all hate crimes--some 1,260 crimes 
nationally.
  Mr. Speaker, the majority of Americans believe that now is the time 
to pass the expanded hate crimes legislation. According to recent 
polls, 63 percent of independent voters say they are ``less likely'' to 
vote for a candidate opposed to hate crimes legislation. These voters 
believe as I do, that hate crimes legislation does not make murdering 
someone who happens to be homosexual a greater crime than murdering 
someone who happens to be heterosexual as its opponents charge. Rather, 
it sends a message throughout our nation that hate crimes will not go 
unnoticed and they will not go unpunished.
  Mr. Speaker, with the recent anti-gay violence in Virginia and the 
increasing number of hate crimes across the nation, it is now time to 
pass the Hate Crimes Prevention Act. We have the support of the 
American people. We need to take action to prevent tragedies like those 
of Matthew Shephard and Daniel Overstreet in the future. I urge my 
colleagues to support H.R. 1082 so that we can curb this rise in anti-
gay violence and send a clear message that hate is wrong and the 
perpetrators of hate crimes will be punished.

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