STATEMENT OF SENATOR PATRICK LEAHY, RANKING MEMBER, SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE, HEARING ON "HATE CRIMES AND THE INTERNET"

September 14, 1999

Today's hearing focuses on the serious problem of hate crimes, and on the growth of use of the Internet to promote their agenda of hate. These are issues that concern all of us.

Recent incidents of violent crimes motivated by hate and bigotry have shocked the American conscience. Just last month, a gunman burst into a Jewish community center in Los Angeles and sprayed the building with 70 bullets. When he surrendered, he said that his rampage had been motivated by his hatred of Jews. The month before, a murderous string of drive-by shootings in Illinois and Indiana left two people dead and nine wounded. Again, the motivation was racial and religious hate.

These are sensational crimes, the ones that focus public attention. But there also is a toll we are paying each year in other hate crimes that find less notoriety, but with no less suffering for the victims and their families.

It remains painfully clear that we as a nation still have serious work to do in protecting all Americans from these crimes and in ensuring equal rights for all our citizens. The answer to hate and bigotry must ultimately be found in increased respect and tolerance. But strengthening our federal hate crimes legislation is a step in the right direction.

I commend Senator Kennedy for his leadership in this effort, and I am proud to have been an original cosponsor of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act. This legislation amends the federal hate crimes statute to make it easier for federal law enforcement officials to investigate and prosecute cases of racial and religious violence. It also focuses the attention and resources of the federal government on the problem of hate crimes committed against people because of their sexual preference, gender, or disability.

The Hate Crimes Prevention Act passed the Senate this year as part of the Commerce-Justice- State Appropriations Bill. I know the Chairman has some concerns with the scope of this legislation; Senator Kennedy and I have been working hard to address those concerns. But I believe the bill in its current form would operate as intended, strengthening federal jurisdiction over hate crimes as a back-up, but not a substitute, for state and local law enforcement. The bill has received strong bipartisan support from state and local law enforcement organizations across the country. We should pass this powerful law enforcement tool this year.

The Hate Crimes Prevention Act is a tool for combating acts of violence and threats of violence motivated by hatred and bigotry. It does not target pure speech, however offensive or disagreeable. The Constitution does not permit Congress to prohibit the expression of an idea because it is hateful. As Justice Holmes wrote, the Constitution protects not just freedom for the thought and expression we agree with, but freedom for the thought we deplore.

A second concrete action that the Senate can take right now to help in the fight against hate crimes is to face up to its responsibility to vote on the nomination of Bill Lann Lee to head the Civil Rights Division. Along with the Deputy Attorney General, Bill Lann Lee has been at the forefront of federal efforts against hate crimes. He is doing an outstanding job in this regard, yet the Senate has avoided voting on his confirmation for more than two years.

It is past time for this Committee to do the right thing, the honorable thing, and report this qualified nominee to the Senate so that the Senate may fulfill its constitutional duty under the advice and consent clause and vote on this nomination without further delay. His is a critical position in the fight against hate crimes. If we are serious about opposing hate crimes, we ought to confirm Bill Lann Lee to help wage that battle with the full authority of a confirmed Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, rather than continue to treat him as if he were a second-class citizen and as if the efforts he is leading against hate crimes were unimportant. Let the Senate vote on the confirmation of this good man. We need Bill Lann Lee's proven problem-solving abilities in these difficult times with hate crimes on the rise across the country. He is spearheading federal efforts against hate crimes, against modern slavery and for equal justice for all Americans.

When confirmed, Bill Lann Lee will be the first Asian Pacific American to be appointed to head the Civil Rights Division in its storied history and the highest-ranking federal executive officer of Asian Pacific American heritage in our 200-year history. Senate confirmation of Bill Lann Lee is an important, concrete step that the Senate can take now to help in efforts against hate crimes and protect the civil rights of all Americans.

It has been said that the content of the Internet is as diverse as human thought. That is its greatest strength, but it comes at a cost. We will hear testimony today about how the Internet has been poisoned by extremists and bigots, who use it to spread hate propaganda and reinforce each other's hateful convictions. As we take stock of the poison that is making its way to this new medium, we must not mistake the Internet itself for the actual sources of the hateful content of these Web pages. When it comes to hate on the Internet, the problem is the message, not the medium.

We need to examine what can be done about hate on the Internet, within the constraints imposed by the First Amendment. I look forward to hearing from today's witnesses on this important issue.