[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 18106]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 2003

  Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about the need for 
hate crimes legislation. On May 1, 2003, Senator Kennedy and I 
introduced the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act, a bill that would 
add new categories to current hate crimes law, sending a signal that 
violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society.
  In Baltimore, MD, in 1999, a group of six people went on a crime 
spree that included over a dozen armed robberies and four car-jackings. 
While most of the victims were threatened at gunpoint and otherwise not 
injured, one man was hit in the head with a baseball bat and Tacy 
Ranta, a prominent transgender activist, was fatally shot in the chest. 
When one of the assailants asked the shooter why he had shot ``that 
lady,'' the shooter replied ``that was no lady--that was a faggot.'' 
Some transgender activists believe that since Ranta was the only one 
killed, the murder was a hate crime based on her status as a 
transsexual.
  I believe that the 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 is a symbol that can become substance. I 
believe that by passing this legislation and changing current law, we 
can change hearts and minds as well.

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