    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book II)]
    [July 10, 1996]
    [Pages 1100-1101]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Signing the Church Arson Prevention Act of 1996
    July 10, 1996

        Thank you very much and good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I want
    to join first with the Vice President in thanking Senator Kennedy,
    Senator Faircloth, Congressman Hyde, and Congressman Conyers and all the
    Members of Congress for supporting this legislation in such a vigorous
    and such a prompt way.
        I think all of you know that we are here today to emphasize publicly
    our solidarity with this cause and with this piece of legislation.
    Ordinarily we would be here at a signing ceremony, and I want to say a
    special word of appreciation to the Members of Congress, especially to
    the sponsors, because this bill came down to the White House while the
    Congress was out of session, and every Member we discussed this issue
    with said, ``Go on and sign the bill, Mr. President, because we don't
    want to lose a single day when this bill will not be a law of the
    land.'' And I thought it was important for you to come down here so that
    America could see the breadth and depth of support in the Congress,
    among religious leaders who are here, and community leaders for this
    legislation and for this cause.
        This act makes destructive hate crimes against houses of worship a
    Federal crime. It doubles the maximum sentence for these crimes that
    cause injury to people. It increases the statute of limitations from 5
    to 7 years. It passed unanimously, and that is a great tribute to the
    depth of conviction in the Congress about this issue.
        We all know that burning churches is an outrage. Since January of
    '95--listen to this--more than 190 incidents of fire or desecration of
    houses of worship have been reported in the United States. While many
    have been targeted at black churches in the South, there have also been
    attacks on synagogues, mosques, and white churches in all parts of this
    country. When these attacks are motivated by hate, they are an affront
    to our basic commitment to religious liberty and racial tolerance, and
    in so doing they pose a challenge not just to those whose houses of
    worship are desecrated or burned but to the entire Nation and to our
    future as a common community.
        These attacks, as the Vice President said, may be intended to divide
    Americans, but they have just the opposite effect. We all know when
    someone burns a house of worship it must mean that the person committing
    the crime views the people who worship in that house as somehow
    fundamentally less human. And that is wrong. We know it's wrong, and we
    know it violates everything that this country was founded upon. We see a
    spirit today with Republicans and Democrats here that rejects that and
    says America is better than that.
        The National Church Arson Task Force which we have created is
    mobilizing the forces of the Departments of Justice and Treasury, the
    Federal Emergency Management Agency, and other Federal agencies, working
    with communities all over our country to catch and to prosecute
    arsonists, to prevent further burnings, and to help communities to
    rebuild. I have directed FEMA to coordinate a prevention effort, and we
    have taken steps to provide $6 million through the Bureau of Justice
    Assistance to law enforcement and other community efforts in 13 targeted
    States.
        It's also important to know that arrests are being made. In the last
    3 weeks, arrests have been made in connection with fires in North
    Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Missouri.
    Tomorrow Vice President Gore is meeting with leaders of the insurance
    industry here at the White House to build on their pledge to work in
    partnership with all of us to prevent these crimes.
        And while, I say again, not all these crimes are racially motivated,
    a significant number of them are. We have to continue our struggle

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    against racism and religious bigotry. I want to compliment all the
    religious organizations and other groups in this country that have
    agreed to come together to help to rebuild these churches, showing that
    we can reach across lines of race and religion and region to bring all
    law-abiding Americans together in this rebuilding effort.
        Recently I declared this month of July National Month of Unity,
    calling on religious leaders of all faiths and citizens from all walks
    of life to reach out to one another to strengthen the ideals that light
    our way as Americans and keep us strong. In recent days, here on the
    lawn of the White House, we have seen another sort of flame in America,
    the Olympic flame, which symbolizes the best of the human spirit. The
    other flames of these awful church burnings symbolize the worst
    instincts of those who would take us back to a time of terrible division
    and hatred. But it's the Olympic flame, carried by American citizen
    heroes all over our country, which is now burning throughout the South,
    making its way to its final destination in Atlanta.
        As the world looks to our Nation as the host country of the 100th
    Olympic games, let us resolve anew to extinguish the flames of bigotry
    and intolerance and keep the flame of religious freedom and ethnic
    diversity and respect for all Americans burning brightly in this Olympic
    season.
        Thank you all for your contribution to that effort, and God bless
    you.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:20 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
    House. H.R. 3525, approved July 3, was assigned Public Law No. 104-155.