[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15000-15001]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           RALLY AGAINST HATE

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I wish to acknowledge the efforts of 
my colleagues and many others participating in the Rally Against Hate 
on Capitol Hill today.
  The rally has been organized by Senators Edward Kennedy and Gordon 
Smith, along with the Human Rights Campaign and its coalition partners, 
to show support and build momentum for passage of Federal hate crimes 
legislation, ``The Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act.''
  Also participating in the rally today is a very brave and amazing 
constituent of mine, Trev Broudy. Trev is a handsome 34-year old actor 
from West Hollywood, CA, and he is also the victim of a hate crime 
motivated by his sexual orientation.
  On September 1, 2003, Trev was hugging and saying goodbye to his 
friend, Teddy Ulett, on the street in West Hollywood when two men 
jumped out of a car without warning and began swinging at Trev's head 
with a baseball bat and an iron pipe.
  After the attack, Trev was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center 
where doctors cleaned away pieces of skull from the back of his head 
and pieced together other parts of skull that had been crushed. He was 
then placed in an induced coma for over a week to guard against 
swelling of his brain.
  Today, Trev looks and sounds fine, although he will never fully 
recover from the attack. He has said, ``People assume because I look 
all right and I'm healthy and I'm walking and I'm talking, I'm all 
better, but I'm not.''
  When Trev finally left the hospital--10 weeks after the attack--he 
thought his injuries would eventually heal and he would soon return to 
work. However, Trev belatedly learned that a major part of his brain 
had to be removed, leaving him with only half the vision in both of his 
eyes.
  Once having a good career as a voice-over artist, Trev now struggles 
with the results of his injuries every day and finds it difficult to 
read even the simplest sentence. He has returned home to his old 
apartment, but he will never be able to return to his old life.
  Yet Trev is an inspiration and a hero to his family and friends back 
home, and particularly to other gay men and lesbians who see this 
heinous crime as a personal attack on their community.
  Los Angeles' gay and lesbian community even came together and 
protested the county district attorney's decision not to file hate 
crime charges against the men suspected of beating Trev. Although the 
West Hollywood sheriff's station, which investigated the case, 
initially filed State hate crime charges, the district attorney's 
office chose not to file hate crimes enhancements in the case.
  And, unfortunately, the limitations of current Federal hate crimes 
law prevent it from helping Trev because it does not extend basic civil 
rights protections to every American--only to a few and under certain 
circumstances.
  Congress should expand the ability of the Federal Government to 
investigate hate crimes, and it should expand the ability to prosecute 
anyone who would target victims because of hate.
  We can, and must, do more to prevent these types of hateful threats 
and acts of violence, and passing The Local Law Enforcement Enhancement 
Act would do just that.
  The Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act would: expand current 
Federal protections against hate crimes based on race, religion, and 
national origin; amend the criminal code to cover hate crimes based on 
gender, sexual orientation, and disability; authorize grants for State 
and local programs designed to combat and prevent hate crimes; and 
enable the Federal Government to assist State and local law enforcement 
in investigating and prosecuting hate crimes.
  Enacting the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act is long overdue. 
It is necessary for the safety and well-being of millions of Americans. 
Until it is enacted, many hate crime victims and their families may not 
receive the justice they deserve.

[[Page 15001]]

  Efforts to enact this legislation have received strong bipartisan 
support in the past, and the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act now 
has 48 cosponsors in the Senate. We just have not been able to get it 
to the President's desk for consideration.
  Today, I ask all of my colleagues to rally against hate by working to 
ensure that this legislation is not simply supported but actually 
passed and signed into law. Let us send a message to all Americans that 
we will no longer turn a blind eye to hate crimes in this country.

                          ____________________