[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 6944]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                   LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 2001

  Mr. SMITH of Oregon. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about hate 
crimes legislation I introduced with Senator Kennedy last month. The 
Local law Enforcement Act of 2001 would add new categories to current 
hate crimes legislation sending a signal that violence of any kind is 
unacceptable in our society.
  Today, I would like to detail a heinous crime that occurred August 
24, 2000 in Allentown, PA. A 24-year-old fatally shot a 15-year-old 
youth attending a party in his home after the teen touched him on the 
arm and other partygoers suggested the teen was gay. According to the 
Allentown Morning Call, a witness said that the alleged perpetrator, 
Michael Gambler, retrieved a shotgun and shot Kevin Kleppinger in the 
forehead. Friends say that Kleppinger was not gay and had been rubbing 
the perpetrator's arm because he thought he had accidentally spit on 
it. Other teens in the apartment began teasing the victim that he might 
be gay before the perpetrator shot him.
  I believe that government's first duty is to defend its citizens, to 
defend them against the harms that come out of hate. The Local Law 
Enforcement Enhancement Act of 2001 is now a symbol that can become 
substance. I believe that by passing this legislation, we can change 
hearts and minds as well.

                          ____________________