[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 21]
[Senate]
[Page 28803]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      MATTHEW SHEPARD ACT OF 2007

  Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, I wish to speak about the need for hate 
crimes legislation. Each Congress, Senator Kennedy and I introduce hate 
crimes legislation that would add new categories to current hate crimes 
law, sending a signal that violence of any kind is unacceptable in our 
society. Likewise, each Congress I have come to the floor to highlight 
a separate hate crime that has occurred in our country.
  In the early hours of October 19, 2007, a 28-year-old man was shot at 
allegedly because of his sexual orientation. The victim and a friend 
left a gay bar in Midtown Atlanta, GA, for a gas station down the 
street at about 3 a.m. At that time, a sport utility vehicle with three 
men inside pulled into the gas station's parking lot. One of the 
vehicle's passengers was allegedly intoxicated and complaining to 
customers about the number of gay people at the gas station, using 
antigay epithets. Some of the man's behavior is caught on surveillance 
tapes at the station. The victim and his friend began to walk back to 
the bar after a short stay at the gas station and were followed by the 
men in the vehicle. As they walked by the bar, the man who appeared 
intoxicated shot at them four or five times, grazing the victim with a 
bullet that had ricocheted off the building. While Georgia does not 
have a hate crime law, the shooting is being investigated as an antigay 
incident.
  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 Matthew 
Shepard 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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