[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 20342]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          CONYERS AMENDMENT TO H.R. 3132 IS BAD PUBLIC POLICY

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                        HON. K. MICHAEL CONAWAY

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 14, 2005

  Mr. CONAWAY. Mr. Speaker, today, I voted against the H.R. 3132, The 
Children's Safety Act of 2005. As a cosponsor and ardent supporter of 
most of the important provisions in this bill, I reluctantly voted 
against it. Most legislation of any substance contains both good and 
bad provisions. As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, I 
continually use my best judgment to determine whether the good 
provisions outweigh the bad provisions of a bill. I could not, in good 
conscience, vote in favor of a bill in which the ``bad'' of creating 
hate crimes law, outweighed the ``good'' of strengthening protections 
for our children.
  The Conyers Amendment added so-called ``hate crimes legislation'' 
which is bad public policy. This provision has no place in a bill that 
was designed to address violence, sexual abuse and other exploitation 
of children. I believe that every crime is a hate crime, and therefore, 
no individual or group of individuals deserves special treatment under 
the law. I am also concerned that ``hate crimes'' legislation such as 
the Conyers Amendment, may lead to the creation of ``thought crimes'' 
in the not too distant future.
  My plea to the members of the Other Body is for them to not include 
the Conyers Amendment in their version of the Child Protection Act. I 
also urge for the House Conferees to strip the Conyers Amendment from 
the final bill.

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