[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 23148]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 23148]]

                       PASSING A HATE CRIMES BILL

  (Ms. LOFGREN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, it is time to pass a hate crimes bill. Some


people confuse hate crimes with the idea that some victims are worthier 
than others. What that misses is the fact that when there is a hate 
crime there is more than one victim: the individual who has been 
assaulted and the group that that victim belongs to.
  We know that when there is a hate crime the intent is to intimidate, 
frighten, and alarm people who share the same trait as the victim, 
whether it is their religion or some other trait. So we need to make 
sure that we protect Americans against hate crimes.
  I am a member of the Committee on the Judiciary with jurisdiction 
over this bill which I am a co-sponsor of. We are not even meeting 
today. We should use our time to enhance law enforcement to protect 
Americans to pass a strong hate crimes bill.

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